Ibukun Awosika appointed new President of IWEC Foundation

Mrs Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, has been appointed President of the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Foundation.

Mrs Ruth Davis, IWEC Chairwoman and former U.S. Ambassador, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.

Davis said that Awosika was elected to replace Miguel Valls, former President of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and President of IWEC Foundation, who died in October.

“Ibukun Awosika has been a solid, steady presence at IWEC since its inception, and she is also a past IWEC awardee.

“Ibukun has not missed one IWEC Conference since 2008 and has lent her voice and experience not only to our conferences, but to our meetings after joining our Board in 2017.

“We are delighted that our Board of Directors voted on her appointment, and we will introduce her as our president at our upcoming 12th Annual IWEC Foundation Conference in New Delhi, on Nov. 10,” Davis said.

According to her, the Foundation’s 2019 Conference will focus on, “Connecting Women Businesses Globally: Leading the Way to Innovation and Integration.”

She said that the foundation would at the Conference welcome 39 awardees from 18 countries, with combined revenue of over 5.7 billion dollars among all awardees to date.

Also, Carmen Castillo, IWEC Foundation’s Vice Chair, said that Awosika had demonstrated a significant commitment to IWEC over the years.

“Her breadth of knowledge extends from being an entrepreneur running ‎SOKOA Chair Centre Ltd, to overseeing the board of directors for the renowned First Bank of Nigeria Limited.

“We are looking forward to her wise counsel and to continuously drive IWEC globally as a source of support, connection and impact for women business owners all over the world,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Awosika was the first Nigerian recipient of the prestigious International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award as a nominee of the US Department of State in 2008.

Awosika is the founder of the Chair Centre Group, an association of large companies in the manufacturing, retail, and financial security services.

She holds seats in the corporate boards of Cadbury Nigeria, Digital Jewel Ltd and the Convention on Business Integrity, among others.

Awosika was honoured in October with the International Friendship Award presented at the IESE Business School by the Queen of Spain.

IWEC is a New York-based international economic empowerment organisation exclusively for women business owners, formed in 2007 with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State.

IWEC’s mission is to develop a global business network for successful women entrepreneurs, helping them gain and expand access to international markets by presenting a platform to exchange knowledge, experience and connections.

It also promotes dialogue among women entrepreneurs and business leaders throughout the world.