By Ebunoluwa Sessou, Abigail Aderibigbe & Emmanuella Donatus

No fewer than 231 Mentees graduated in the just concluded 6th edition of the Women on Board, WIMBOARD, a platform created by Women in Management Business and Public Service, WIMBIZ. The platform since its creation has been used to train over 700 women into the Senior Executive Boardroom of different organizations within and outside Nigeria.

WIMBOARD is a Mentor-Mentee platform with the objective of balancing the gender gap in the management boardroom across sectors and corporate organisations.

This mentoring program is what prepares the Mentees to know what corporate management and governance is all about and also the adequate information required of them when on board.

Speaking, the Executive Director, Women in Management Business and Public Service, WIMBIZ, Omowunmi Akingbohungbe explained that, “WIMBOARD is one of the WIMBIZ’s programs that prepares senior executive women to board.

“We always push for gender balance and good management among all organizations. A different perspective helps with different outcomes and better decision making.

“It is a thing to have policies in place which allow certain quotas of the board to be for women. We push for gender balance and executive management on board and organization. The fact is that, we see things in different perspectives and because we are wired differently, it gives room for better outcome and decision making.

“It is a thing to have a policy in place and it is another thing to know that certain quotas should be preserved for women to be able to sit on the board and that is what WIMBOARD is about. We are equipping women to take active positions and roles in the decision making of the organizations.

“This is the sixth edition of the WIMBOARD since WIMBIZ’s inception. After the WIMBOARD program, you will become a WIMBOARD fellow. These fellows are exposed to a series of opportunities from different organisations”, she noted.

On the benefits of being a WIMBOARD fellow, Akingbohungbe further explained that, “Once Mentees graduate to be WIMBOARD fellows, the journey continues. As an organization, we advocate and engage different organizations both locally and internationally to let them know that we have a pull of Board-Ready women that have been trained, mentored and ready to make significant difference on their Boards.

“We have also partnered with Board Seats; a digital platform to have the profiles of all these WIMBOARD fellows uploaded and the platform is designed to attract different recruitment firms and HR professionals. These organisations view the profiles of women that have been trained under the WIMBOARD program”, she stated.

On financial literacy and technology, she said, “Our curriculum for WIMBOARD is very robust and because they are senior executive women, I believe financial literacy is already in place. We have the finance for non-finance managers in the curriculum and this is a platform that sensitises them on how to leverage on technology to improve on their own time management and adoption of artificial intelligence to improve on their space.

“To be a WIMBOARD Mentee, you need to register and once you sign up, it goes through a review process to determine whether you are at that level to be prepared for the Board.

“We onboard annually and the program for next year commences very soon and the link to register is on our website. WIMBIZ is a social media platform, you can be sure that you will get responses from us.

“To be qualified, you can check the WIMBIZ mentoring program which is broadened into two areas; firstly, the WIMBIZ mentoring program that caters to entry levels, start up business women, career women who are then assigned to senior executive level and then board members.

“We prepare them on how they can grow their careers, scale their businesses to upgrade. So, we have something catering for everyone in their capacity.

“Our charge to WIMBOARD fellows is that they should be ambassadors of gender equity on Boards as well as across the organization or even in public reforms.

“So, they are supposed to be our advocates, ambassadors, and ensure that even when they leave the Board Seats that they are, they are opening the door for another woman to come in.

In her contribution, the Chairman, WIMBIZ Board of Trustees, Ms. Bisi Adeyemi disclosed that the sixth graduation of WIMBOARD Mentees is the first in-person event since the organization was established adding that organization has graduated almost 700 mentees since inception.

“This is the 6th cohort and the reason for WIMBOARD is the fact that there were fewer women sitting on Boards.

“In the past, the excuses were, there were no qualified women who should sit on the onboard. So it is our own way of ensuring that women are qualified hence the commencement of this program.

“We have lots of success stories especially as more women who are graduating from the WIMBOARD program are climbing the management ladder. To be qualified, you have to be a senior middle manager with the desire to make a difference. You must be competent because it is not everybody that is ready for the Board position.

“Most importantly, you need to have the right mindset if you really want to make a difference. You have to be willing to and design a legacy for yourself”, she said.

One of the WIMBOARD Mentors who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a Principal Partner at Folashade Alli and Associates, Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK, Folashade Alli, said, “My words to the Mentees is that they need to build on what they have learned, they should be Board-Ready and continue to improve on themselves until they get to the position. They should not give up. This is an opportunity for women and WIMBIZ/WIMBOARD has done so much to continue to train the young ones and anyone aspiring to be onboard.

“They have learned what it takes and what is required to be effective and impactful Board members and when they attain that position, they should realize that the position is an opportunity that they must not misuse because opportunity comes but once.

“My advice is, they should read everything that it entails to continue to excel as Board members”, she said.

The keynote speaker, Founder/ Chief Executive Officer Eximia Realty & Home4me, Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, pointed out that the Mentees should be skillfully engaged and this is critical for all potential leaders and this includes both technical and soft skills.

“You need knowledge to understand corporate laws, corporate governance, and you need to move with the trend.

“You need to pay attention to development and how they affect corporate governance, because on the board, you are guided by the rules of corporate governance. So you must pay attention to technology, artificial intelligence which drives corporate governance.

“When you go to Board meetings, it is the knowledge that takes you through. So you need financial literacy. You need corporate knowledge, and you have to be preparing for meetings. Because lots of people just come to meetings without being prepared.

“Get the right materials on time and make sure that you prepare for the meeting. I salute the vision of those who created this organization, because over the years, they have graduated into a platform that has a very positive impact, not only on women, but also on men.

“WIMBIZ as a platform is unique and it has helped to curate potential Board members and my charge to them is that they should do more in the future.

“For the Mentees, my advice is that they should always talk of Can-Do, Will-Do, and Must-Do. You must have the right attitude. When you combine the right attitude with strong knowledge, you can only go far on the Board. You need that positive disposition that will drive your passion and aspirations”, he advised.

In her contribution, Ricky Asemota, Partner at McKinsey & Company, urged the Mentees to understand the challenges that are being experienced by women in the organization adding that they should aspire to achieve, implement and put some policies and measures in place to tackle those challenges whether it is politics, practices or procedures.

One of the Mentees who represented the 2025 WIMBOARD graduating Mentees Cohort 6.0, Chinwe Bode-Akinwande in her appreciation speech, said, the 3-month period of learning and unlearning, coaching, mentoring, guidance by the Mentors was amazing.

“It was indeed a worthwhile experience from the induction held May 10, 2025 to the Saturday sessions, thought provoking presentations, board simulations, and mentor- mentee time out.

“The tone was set on the May 10, 2025 with the two amiable speakers: Madam Mary Akpobome, who took us through Personal Branding for Board Effectiveness and Mr. Kunle Elebute who took us on Building a Board-ready Profile: Crafting a Board-ready CV, laced with other brilliant and challenging sessions.

“Now is the time to display intellectual curiosity, willingness to commit to time, exhibit the ability to oversee long-term strategy and raise our profile in the industry”, she said.

She however promised that the Mentees would make use of all opportunities to serve, make impact and build legacy.