The gender now makes up almost one-third of the top executives of the country’s commercial financial institutions
Tomi Somefun still recalls the shock in 2015 when she was summoned to meet the board of Unity Bank and offered the position of CEO.
For an economy just emerging from its second recession in four years, at stake is a potential catalyst for growth in the years to come. Achieving full gender equity in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, could bolster its GDP by $229bn, or 23%, by 2025, according to a 2019 report by McKinsey Global Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations.
But when it comes to the top of the pecking order, change is afoot. This year, three women have become CEOs or MDs: Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe for Fidelity Bank, Yemisi Edun for First City Monument Bank and Miriam Olusanya for Guarantee Trust Bank, the banking unit of the country’s biggest lender.
“It feels good to see the diligence of these women pay off,” said Mosope Arubayi, a female economist at IC Asset Managers. “The recent increasing number is just a case of opportunity meeting preparedness by the female bankers.”
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