Bukola Adeyeye

Founder of She Leads Africa, empowering African women leaders through education and mentorship programs

Bukola Adeyeye is a Nigerian entrepreneur and social innovator renowned for founding She Leads Africa in 2016. This pan-African initiative has become a transformative force in fostering female leadership across the continent. Through its flagship Leadership Academy and annual summits, the organization has trained over 3,000 women entrepreneurs and leaders from 35 African countries by 2023. Adeyeye's vision emphasizes leveraging technology and cross-border collaboration to address systemic barriers faced by women in business and governance.

Her work gained significant momentum post-2020, especially during the pandemic when She Leads Africa pivoted to virtual mentorship programs reaching 10x more participants than pre-pandemic levels. Notable partnerships include collaborations with UN Women and the African Development Bank. Adeyeye's 2021 TEDx talk "Building Africa's Future Through Women's Leadership" has garnered over 500,000 views.

Key innovations include the African Women's Leadership Index launched in 2022, providing data-driven insights into gender disparities in leadership roles. Her advocacy led to policy changes in three African nations regarding women's access to digital financial services. Adeyeye's biography Leading with Intention: A Blueprint for African Women's Empowerment (2023) is widely used in university curricula across the continent.