By Peace Udugba -The daily torch media
Wema Bank has unveiled the Top 10 nominees for its women-focused award initiative, the SARA Gives to Empower Her Award, marking the second edition of its She Empowers Her Award.
The bank, Nigeria’s oldest indigenous financial institution and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, revealed that the award is part of its broader commitment to promoting gender inclusion and celebrating women who are driving impact across communities.
The Top 10 nominees are: Social Entrepreneur, Bosede Nwachi; NGO Founder, Chigozie Blessing; Customer Success Leader, Ekwutosi Cynthia; Coach and Public Speaker, Franca Ozini; TEDx Speaker, Hassanat Abubakar; Mentor, Ikepo Osawaye; Marketing Professional, Jennifer Edem Ekong; World Safety Ambassador, Ambassador Mabel Abel-Onaiwu; Founder, Patrick Stephen Purple Heart Foundation for Widows, Oluwaseun Joan Stephen; and Virtual Assistant Coach, Victoria Ezechukwu-Obiya.
Launched in 2024 under the bank’s women-focused proposition, SARA by Wema, the She Empowers Her Award was created to celebrate, honour and spotlight women who have made significant impact or built a legacy of empowering other women both personally and professionally.
Drawing inspiration from the global International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 theme, “Give to Gain,” Wema Bank’s 2026 IWD campaign is centred on the theme “When She Gains, We Grow,” highlighting the importance of giving time, opportunities, resources and support to women. In line with this, this year’s edition has been tagged “SARA Gives to Empower Her Award & Grant,” recognising and rewarding women who have consistently invested in the growth of other women.
To ensure a transparent and credible selection process, Wema Bank adopted a multi-layered approach involving public nominations, an internal jury and a voting process, all vetted by an independent audit body. Nominations were opened to the public on February 12, 2026, and closed on February 22, 2026. At the close of entries, the bank received 2,332 nominations covering 351 women. From this pool, 10 finalists were shortlisted based on measurable impact and a clear track record of empowering other women.
The award ceremony will be held on March 4, 2026, during Wema Bank’s International Women’s Day event in Lagos, where five winners will emerge.
Public voting for the Top 5 winners is now open. Interested participants can cast their votes via the official voting link. The winners will be announced live at the bank’s International Women’s Day event, which will be streamed on YouTube from 10 a.m. on March 4, 2026.
