TPPW 2023: Advancing Women’s Career, Enterprise Growth in Africa

The Peak Performing Woman (TPPW) 2023 is giving women across Africa a reason to dream on, push the boundaries and challenge the status quo to attain excellence in their careers. This goal was the thrust of the maiden edition of TPPW that honoured female achievers for their unmatched impacts across industries. Rebecca Ejifoma reports on its resolve to advance the career and enterprise growth of one million women on the continent

It was a defining moment for outstanding female recipients from all walks of life across Africa. They had converged at The Muson Centre in Lagos to receive their flowers after putting their best foot forward to make igniting impacts as career professionals, entrepreneurs, social innovators, and political office holders, amongst others.

Thanks to CHAMP’s TPP Woman of the Year 2023, a perfect vehicle to drive women to attain excellence. It was a confluence of three invaluable activities, including a summit, an exhibition and awards. With the theme, “Embracing Equity for Peak Performance”, there were fireside chats among other engaging icebreakers, which heralded the unveiling of CHAMP’s latest women empowerment tool, The Peak Performing Woman’s Companion, a must-have for every woman aspiring for greatness as peak performers.

“A peak performing woman is a catalyst for socioeconomic growth,” says the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of TPP, Dr Abiola Salami. Adding, “Our aim with TPP Woman project is to equip one million women in the next 18 months from launch with the insights from the book to deliver excellence as career professionals, entrepreneurs, social innovators, and political office. The estimated budget for this project is $1 million. The proceeds from this launch will be funding that.”

Arguably, Salami is confident that TPP Woman project is taking women to where they should go. While empowering, connecting, and celebrating women across Africa, it enables more women to live beyond misperceptions, self-limiting beliefs, fears, stereotypes and misplaced emotions that could limit the God-given exceptional nature within women for the development of humanity.

“TPP Woman of the Year 2023 aligns with our quest to celebrate outstanding women yearly. This year, we received 2,543 entries,” he acknowledged, reminding the continent that the struggles and achievements of these women were reflective of a more significant societal shift towards gender equality.

Inspiring words of Mosun Belo-Olusoga

The first female Chairman of Access Bank, Mosun Belo-Olusoga, motivated the women with cheerful words to launch them into winning. “When presented with opportunities, women should have that self-belief that they can do it,” she chipped in.

She, however, urged women to develop a broad mindset, keep learning, and grow as they leverage available platforms to take advantage of opportunities.

For Belo-Olusoga, also the Lead Consultant/CEO of The Knowledge and Resource Centre (KRC), women need to understand trends, technology and how it works for them. According to her, women should develop a broad mindset, keep learning and grow as they leverage available platforms to take advantage of opportunities.

To her, reskilling or learning new skills is not about throwing what they have learnt away. Instead, it allows them to flesh things up from another perspective.

Toyin Sanni massages the audience with tech talks

Swiftly on the heels of her presentation is the Founder/CEO of Emerging Africa Group, Toyin Sanni. She encouraged women to leverage advanced technological tools to get to the top of their game. She also underscored the significance of understanding technology, connecting and networking with like minds.

RMD, a he-for-she

Even the words of veteran actor Richard Mofe-Damijo, RMD, reverberated throughout the cheering hall. First, he described himself as a he-for-she and a strong advocate of women attaining the zenith of their careers. Thus, he emphasised that women could become peak performers by being aware, sensible, and sensitive. “It’s making peak performance a lifestyle. Societal biases and religious beliefs hamper women’s progress,” says RMD. “There are societal biases and religious beliefs that block women’s progress, and just like Dr Abiola Salami encouraged us, we must do our best to support women to break those beliefs.”

Adesuwa Onyenokwe lends her voice

Echoing other speakers’ thoughts as the panel moderator during the summit session, veteran journalist, Mrs Adesuwa Onyenokwe, described TPP Woman as a tool for women to climb the ladder of success.

“The whole essence of The Peak Performing Woman is something I identify with. A peak performing woman is today’s woman— you’re living today.

“The peak performing woman is about helping women to learn the process,” she admitted. “So that with that learning, they can create their glass ceiling, their space and run with it, not forgetting that they must pull many other women along. Excellent topic. Excellent platform. Excellent idea.”

Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru’s review of the tool

In her review of The Peak Performing Woman’s Companion, the Publisher/Chairman of The Guardian Newspapers, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru commended the convener for addressing the foundational problems undermining women’s careers, personal growth and contributions to nation-building.

“Salami thoughtfully guided women readers through detailed and specific missteps and misunderstandings that, most times, undermine their aspirations to become peak performers,” she highlighted.

Leveraging lessons from his inspirational piece ‘Who Says It’s a Man’s World: Ageless Lessons for Becoming an Exceptional Woman’, Alex-Ibru pointed out that Salami’s 11 chapters focus on women’s empowerment and self-worth in an increasingly challenging global economy and changing workplace.

Award Recipients

For Lifetime Achievement Awards, Justice Amina Augie, the sixth woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice in Nigeria; Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru; Dr Mosun Belo-Olusoga; the Founder of Girls Grooming School and Author, Mrs Rosemarie Bukola Ogunyemi; and the first female Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Mrs Catherine George.

The West African CEO of the Year is Toyin F. Sanni. Under the CEO of the Year category are Funke Bucknor-Obruthe (Event Management); CEO of the African Business Coalition for Health (ABCHealth), Dr Mories Atoki, (Health Advocacy); CEO and Principal Consultant of U-Connect, Omomene Odike (Human Resources); and the first female CEO/MD of ASO Savings, Risikatu Ahmed (Mortage Banking of the Year) among others.

Among the Super Achievers Category are Chioma Yvonne Afe for marketing communications; Ruth Isime for media; Folake Ani-Mumuney for marketing and communications; Thelma Ekiyor and Olatowun Candide-Johnson for women development.

For the Exemplary Leadership category are the Group Features Editor of THISDAY, Mrs Chiemelie Ezeobi for Media; Kemi Ogunkoya for capacity development; Nancy Isime for Media. Under the Woman for Excellence are Konye Chelsea Nwabogor for media; Ifesinachi Okpagu for marketing and corporate communications; and Katja Schiller Nwator for development among others.

Ultimately, TPP Woman project is empowering women to dream big and achieve excellence is the right thing to do and essential for an equitable and just society. That is why the project continues to help women break down barriers, promote gender inclusion, and provide women with the resources they need to accelerate and achieve their full potential and create a better world.