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Rise and Lead, a global platform that promotes the financial and leadership inclusion of women in the workplace, marketplace and society, is set to hold its Rising Leaders’ Summit in Lagos, Nigeria. After it consecutively held twice in the Netherlands, the summit will take place at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos on March 27, 2020.

The platform, founded by entrepreneur, author and women in leadership advocate, Ebere Akadiri, has a vision of closing the gender leadership gap. The summit will bring together industry leaders, renowned thought leaders, executives and business founders to share skills, learnings and promote the inclusion of women in leadership.

In a statement sent to Financial Nigeria, Akadiri said, "The ecosystem is unequal, and unfavourable to women. Closing the gender leadership gap in workplaces, the marketplace and society is not only a woman’s issue, it’s society’s issue.”

The United Nations says development will only be sustainable if its benefits accrue equally to both women and men. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 advocates gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Rise and Lead said a sustainable and prosperous society is achievable by empowering women as leaders, entrepreneurs and change makers. The organisation facilitates meaningful connections through mentorship circles and executive programmes that support women leaders to thrive in workplaces and in their businesses.

The Rising Leaders’ Summit – Africa 2020 will be co-hosted by Adebola Kupoluyi, Country Chair of Rise and Lead Initiative in Nigeria. While the main summit will take place on March 27, there will be an invitation-only pre-summit roundtable discussion over dinner with leaders and policymakers on March 26, according to a statement by Rise and Lead.

The organisation said the summit welcomes both male and female participants. It emphasised the need for partnerships to achieve diversity and inclusion. The event will feature an inclusive panel that will hold discussion on the theme: “How to Build an Inclusive Culture.”

Participants at the event will include government representatives from UN member-countries, corporate leaders across various sectors and development professionals. Last year’s summit featured corporations like Aon, Coca-Cola, Atos, UPS, Mastercard, Salesforce, Royal DSM and Elsevier, Elliot Lloyd, and OPCW.

“We envision a world where women have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. We want to see them achieve top leadership positions in the workplace and create sustainable businesses in the marketplace,” the Rise and Lead founder said.