Women entrepreneurs urged to collaborate, network for greater sustainability

Women entrepreneurs are being encouraged to collaborate and network more, creating a ripple effect that drives business growth, sparks innovation, and boots personal well-being.

GAH Elite Club Founder, Kelechi Oghene shared the insight at a Lagos forum themed ‘Power of collaboration’, marking the 2026 International Women’s Day (IWD).

Oghene, who is also the convener of the forum which brought together women entrepreneurs, leaders and professionals described the gathering as a perfect platform for participants to collaborate and network towards sustainability.

According to her, “Today is not just another event on the calendar, it is a collaboration, a declaration that women are no longer waiting to be included, we are building leading and redefining the future in our own terms.

“Because when we talk about women’s growth, leadership, and visibility, we must first understand the real gap.

“The challenge is not about ambition, we have brilliant, capable and hard-working women everywhere, but the real gap is positioning, how are you seen, where you are seen, and how intentionally you show up. And until this is understood, many will continue to do powerful work, but remain unseen.”

She stressed that women often lack strategic visibility saying, “we are talented, capable, but lack value–adding strategy. Visibility without strategy fails, and clients overlook those without positioning.

“In Today’s digital age, you cannot afford to stay hidden when you carry value, presence without power changes nothing.

“Women have been conditioned to participate, to attend to contribute to support but the future belongs to women who go beyond participation, when women are positioned properly everything changes, this positioning is the difference between effort and impact.”

Stating that the future would not be defined by those who waited but by those who showed up, stood out and build boldly, she said: “We must also shift how we relate to one another. From competition to collaboration because growth is faster when we build together.”

In addition, she advised women to leverage relationships, proximity so as to grow intentionally.

Speaking on the general theme of the 2026 International Women’s Day, ‘Give to Gain’, Oghene said it speaks to a powerful truth about leadership, impact, and the collective advancement of humanity.

According to her, “Women always give, they give courage in moments of uncertainty, they give resilience in times of adversity, they give wisdom to families, communities, institutions, and nations and through that giving, the world gains.

“It gains stability, compassion, innovation, and transformative leadership.’’

Emphasising the power of women who build, she said: “Across the world, women are building institutions, leading governments, transforming industries, and shaping the future of global development.

“Yet the journey has never been easy, for generations, women have had to fight for opportunities that should have been natural rights, the right to education, to leadership, to economic participation, and to influence decisions that shape our societies.’’

She noted that International Women’s Day shows progress is possible when courageous women lend their voices, time, intellect and leadership to uplift others.

Speaking early, Ronke Ogunwusi commended the convener of the forum saying it would encourage women to collaborate for greater sustainability.

Highlights include a panel discussion on women collaboration for success and recognition of women entrepreneurs with standout achievements in their fields.