Michelle Dede made her entry into the Nigerian entertainment scene without prior experience, as a co-host for the first season of M-Net/Endemol’s Big Brother Nigeria. The hit reality TV show was the first in Nigeria to be broadcast live across the African continent on DStv. Michelle’s versatility and natural talent saw her go on to host numerous events and product launches for brands including Nokia, Google, Etihad Airways, UBA, Sahara Group, , Clickatell, Lancôme, Maybelline New York, The AMVCA Nominee Show (Viewers Choice Awards) and Afriff (African International Film Festival), to name a few. She was also a host on The Mtn Game Show for three seasons and Ebony Life TV's flagship talk show Moments Nigeria for two years.

Prior to co-hosting Moments Nigeria, in 2014 Michelle auditioned for and was cast as a lead character ‘Tari Gambadia’ in Ebony Life TV's Desperate Housewives Africa; the African adaptation of the original ABC hit TV drama series Desperate Housewives which began her career as an actor. Chosen by Disney's casting directors for the role, her performance as Tari (Susan Meyer in the original US show) once again displayed the inherent talent she possessed despite having no formal acting training. 

She has also been advocating against gender based violence and human trafficking, working with ngo’s including Stand to end Rape, Warif_ng (Women at Risk International Foundation), Mirabel Centre Ng and The 300 Project, having also assisted the latter through her diplomatic connections to rescue and repatriate victims of human trafficking from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria.

Andrew Alli is a finance professional with over thirty years of experience, much of which is in financing infrastructure and energy projects in Africa.

Andrew is currently CEO &Partner of Southbridge Group, a Pan-African financial services firm focused on Investment Banking and Sovereign advisory.

Before joining the SouthBridge Group, he was the President & CEO of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and as the immediate past Chief Executive Officer of Africa Finance Corporation, Andrew was responsible for the overall strategy and operations of the Corporation. Under his leadership, the executive management undertook over US$4.5 billion in investments across Africa, During his tenure, AFC increased the size of its balance sheet four-fold, while gaining the second highest, investment grade, credit rating of any financial institution in Africa.

Temi Marcella Awogboro is a leading investment professional and executive with over 15 years of experience across deal origination, execution, portfolio management, exits, business building and board management in developed and growth markets across a number of sectors including technology, healthcare, and financial services. She currently serves as the Executive Director with Evercare Hospital Lekki wholly owned by TPG Capital. Prior to this, she was the West Africa deal lead of the Health Fund. She is a Co-Founder and Partner with Kairos Angels and the Magic Fund. She started her career at Goldman Sachs, where she was honoured as a Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Scholar.

She is a firm believer in the power of private capital to transform lives and is passionate about harnessing this power as a catalyst for profound, deep-rooted change globally. She has committed over half a billion in private partnership capital across strategic sectors globally.

She is an advisor, pioneer, and change agent, driven by a mission to unlock the power of capital as a catalyst for transformation through her work.

Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho is a seasoned Information Technology professional with over 15 years of industry experience in Africa’s largest emerging economy with a deep purpose and focus on bridging the digital divide and transforming Africa by harnessing the benefits of digital. She is  currently CEO of Future Software Resources Ltd. (Futuresoft), one of Nigeria’s leading digital & technology solutions companies, providing a broad range of solutions for the scaling African enterprise, to consistently attract and retain its target audience, optimize its processes and increase its bottom line.

Nkemdilim is recognized as an Obama African Leader, Forbes’s Top Ten Female Tech Founders in Africa, Global Digital Women top 10 Most Inspiring Women in Africa, Lionesses of Africa top 100 Women and Ventures Africa 42 most Innovative Africans.

She serves on the board of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC as well as the board of the Society for Corporate Governance in Nigeria where she chairs the Digital and Innovation Committee. She also serves in the leadership of the NESG Digital Economy Thematic group; is a member of The Nigerian National IT Software Committee and the Nigerian Electronic Voting Think Tank where she actively contributes to the advancement of digitalization and shaping policy to support its inclusive delivery.

Founder, Rele Art Gallery

Adenrele is an accomplished  art and cultural professional with over 10 years of  experience in the art and creative industry. She has curated and overseen numerous successful high profile art exhibitions within art world capitals such as Lagos, Los Angeles, New York and Venice, that challenge the boundaries of art.  She has been featured in global publications such as the Financial Times, The Art Review, Forbes Africa, and Vogue.

First created in 1972 to celebrate its 200th anniversary, the House created an award – the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award – to honor this bold woman. For 50 years, the House has awarded businesswomen who have built, taken on or developed a business. To date, 350 women in 27 countries have been honored.