By Josephine Agbonkhese

The China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) Nigeria Alumni Chapter recently inducted a fresh set of members while unveiling its official alumni website and announcing the expansion of its flagship Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership for Africa (WELA) programme to Abuja.

The ceremony, held in Lagos, brought together business leaders, corporate executives, entrepreneurs and alumni from across Nigeria in what organisers described as a celebration of community, achievement and shared purpose.

The climax of the evening was the official launch of the CEIBS Nigeria Alumni Website, a platform that promises to redefine how the chapter’s over 300 Nigerian members connect, collaborate and do business with one another and with the outside world.

President, CEIBS Nigeria Alumni Chapter, Omoyemi Chukwurah, said the launch was timely, coming at a time when there’s been an increasing number of Chinese investors entering the country and actively seeking local partners.

“It is not just a website. It is like a mini website inside a big website. Each alumni member gets to write their own profile, tell people what they do and post pictures of their businesses. For anybody that comes and says they are looking for someone that can provide a particular service, it is easy to go to the portal, run a check and get a list of members who can deliver that,” she said.

Beyond business matchmaking, the platform also allows members to pay dues, message one another directly, access community updates and stay informed about chapter activities, making it a one-stop hub for everything alumni-related in Nigeria.

In his address, the Country Manager, CEIBS Africa, Sa’id Adewale Mohammed, confirmed that the WELA programme would for the first time be running in Abuja; a move that eliminates the burden of travel that had long faced prospective participants outside of Lagos.

“All the knowledge and exposure that the Lagos cohort has access to, they will also have right there in Abuja,” Mohammed said. He added that the cross-border structure of the programme remains fully intact, with participants from Lagos, Abuja and Ghana converging for shared sessions that deliberately build connections across national boundaries.

Executive Director, CEIBS Africa, Prof. Gordon Kwesi Adomdza, in his address, called on African business leaders to stop viewing the world exclusively through a Western lens and to recognise China as an indispensable window into the future of global business.

“It used to be the case that if you wanted to see the future, you went to the West. Today, many people agree that if you want to see the future, you would include China in that endeavour. Chinese companies are breaking barriers in so many different aspects of life; in technology, in business processes and in innovation. We want African managers to get a sense of what the future looks like by learning from these companies,” he said.

Prof. Adomdza stressed that this is not merely an academic argument. African executives, he said, are already operating in environments shaped by Chinese influence whether they realise it or not, and that CEIBS exists to ensure they are equipped to engage and negotiate on their own terms. “We need to make sure that African managers are conversant with what Chinese companies are doing, the models they are bringing on board and how to negotiate with them, so that we can build an Africa on our own terms,” he said.

Among the ten accomplished women formally inducted into the WELA 2025 cohort at the ceremony were: Fadipe Janefrances, Chief Operating Officer of Elfad Concept Ltd; Akinde Ifeoma, Executive Director of Whitehills Events; Tolulope Olaiya, Managing Director of Greenswealth Corporate Services Limited; Ikimi Titilayo, Assistant Director at the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service; Aire Natasha, Chief Executive Officer of Style Space Concepts; Fasoranti Bimbo, Managing Director of Hair by Beesroots; Okuntola Abisola, Creative Director of Plum and Grey; Marian Nwanze, Design Lead at Design by May; Odokor Patience, Chief Executive Officer of The Fabric Hub and Ehiwoman; and Ogu Jane, Chief Executive Officer of Flawlessfaces by Jane.

The event also witnessed the presentation of awards to outstanding individuals.

Among them were Itohan Asibor, Best Graduating Student; Nkechi Oji, Worthy Ambassador Award; Aire Natasha, Best in Entrepreneurial and Finance Accounting; Fadipe Janefrances, Best in Strategy and Innovation; and Akinloye Oluwakemi Yetunde, Best in Entrepreneurial Gender and Leadership.