Designed as an “alternative power space,” HER.Circle broke convention. There were no formal panels or scripted speeches just raw, cross-sector conversations around a shared mission: to close the gap between access and ambition for levate female leadership as a cornerstone of Africa’s economic future.
Abidjan, 11 May 2025 – Against the backdrop of the Africa CEO Forum, a new power convening made its debut: HER.Circle, the flagship event of the HERitage Collective. Held in the heart of Abidjan, the evening brought together a dynamic mix of influential and emerging African women leaders alongside their male allies for a night of intentional dialogue, bold storytelling, and strategic alliance-building.
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"The HERitage Collective is a direct response to an urgent market gap," said Sally Nnamani, Co-Founder of the HERitage Collective. "Across the continent, too many talented and ambitious African women are locked out of the strategic networks that unlock capital, mentorship, and influence. This isn’t just a social issue, it’s a missed investment opportunity and a structural inefficiency that holds back growth. Through curated experiences like HER.Circle, we seek to convene powerhouse women, emerging leaders, and male champions to spur collaboration, visibility, all while building a pipeline of investable talent and accelerating inclusive leadership across the continent.”
The Collective’s roots trace back to September 2024 during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Noticing how many emerging African women leaders well not represented at high-level events, Habibah A. Waziri, pan-African strategist and co-founder, created a WhatsApp group to circulate personal invites and contacts to a trusted circle of women reshaping Africa’s business landscape.
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That small act sparked something bigger. Within months, the group evolved into a transcontinental platform connecting emerging female changemakers across Africa and the diaspora, bound by a mission to bridge the gap between ambition and access.
HER.Circle: A Room Without Filters, But Full of Intention
The inaugural theme, “Power. Access. Influence: Closing the Gap Between Ambition & Access,” set the tone. Huguette Umutoni, founder of N’gage Africa and co-founder of the Collective, opened the evening with a call for authenticity and bold leadership.
"Our collaboration with HERitage Collective was a rare and powerful moment, women were the majority in the room," said Maëliss Blah, Sales & Marketing Manager at La Résidence Abidjan, the city’s premier private members club. "We heard voices that are often left out of the conversation. These women though discreet, carry influence, and I hope more of them find space here."
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Over the course of the evening, participants engaged deeply with three strategic pillars:
- Visibility & Voice: Elevating African women where their lived experience and cultural capital shape decisions across sectors.
- Access & Exposure: Breaking down structural gatekeeping to unlock networks and funding.
- Capacity & Collective Growth: Investing in the skills, systems, and infrastructure that allow African women not just to participate—but to lead.
"We don’t need to be empowered. We need to be trusted, invested in, and heard," said Fatima Soleiman, Co-Founder and CEO of Mr Roof Rwanda. "HER.Circle is a shared commitment to build the pipelines that connect women to the rooms where futures are shaped."
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This wasn’t just a dinner. It was a strategic intervention. Led by Waziri, Umutoni, Nnamani, and Soleiman, the HERitage Collective is more than a network, it is a launchpad. Its pillars are clear, its intentions bold:
- Crafting narratives through digital storytelling
- Getting women in rooms where decisions happen
- Democratizing access to expertise, mentorship, and capital
Afetsi Awoonor, Executive Director of the Afetsi Awoonor Foundation, echoed the sentiment: "When African women rise, entire communities follow. This initiative celebrates power, purpose, and possibility. We’re proud to stand with them."
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The evening closed with a collective toast, an affirmation of heritage, sisterhood, and the commitment to open doors, recommend, endorse, and invest.
"Any movement that champions women’s growth is a no-brainer for us," said Valerie Obaeze, CEO of R&R Skincare. Female-led brand LYVV Cosmetics joined early, recognizing the urgency of the moment and investing without hesitation.
For Barry Johnson, Founder of 7 Generations Africa and an early sponsor, the vision aligned perfectly: "We’re building structures for African families to thrive for 100, even 200 years. HER.Circle is a powerful expression of that long-view leadership."
With more editions already in development across Africa, the HERitage Collective plans to grow the HER.Circle series alongside major global forums, amplifying African women’s leadership, expanding their networks, and accelerating their pathways to power.
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