Blog

March 20, 2025

WIPO IP and Women Business Summit: Lessons on Leadership

SWEDIWorld took part, virtually, in the WIPO IP and Women Business Summit on 20 March 2025 at the United Nations House in Abuja. The summit is a platform for empowering women to lead, create and innovate, and for inspiring greater participation by women in intellectual property in Nigeria.

The keynote, “My Journey to Leadership and Lessons for Women in the Marketplace”, was delivered by Ms. Dupe Olusola, Founder of the Next Generation Foundation and former Managing Director and CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc. SWEDIWorld shared the main lessons:

Leadership and growth

Lead with kindness: true leadership is rooted in empathy.
Mentorship: mentor others and seek mentorship.
Personal development: invest in your growth and master your field.
Embrace challenges as catalysts for growth, and focus on what aligns with your core objectives.

Empowerment and confidence

Be bold, know your worth and stay authentic, especially through transitions.
Define and uphold personal values, and adapt, including by walking away from networks that no longer serve a positive purpose.

Collaboration and inclusion

Create opportunities for others; inclusive environments produce richer outcomes.
Focus on continuous improvement, not competition, and build networks through associations.

Strategic positioning and legacy

Show your work, be intentional and move from talk to execution.
Prioritise self-care, and decide how you want to be remembered.

“Ms. Olusola’s insights serve as a guiding light,” SWEDIWorld reflected. “I am glad I was in the room.”

March 8, 2025

International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerate Action

She is confident. She is empowered. She is unstoppable.

Education fuels her progress, and empowerment shapes her future. She is not just breaking barriers; she is building new paths for generations to follow.

This year, SWEDIWorld did more than celebrate women: it committed to action. “We accelerate change. We demand equality. We create opportunities. Because when women rise, the world rises with them.”

SWEDIWorld joined the global call to #AccelerateAction for a future where every woman thrives.

Girls at the SWEDI Care menstrual health outreach, Junior Secondary School Kabusa, Abuja

October 11, 2024

SWEDI Care Reaches School Girls on International Day of the Girl Child

SWEDIWorld marked the 2024 International Day of the Girl Child by taking the SWEDI Care programme into Junior Secondary School, Kabusa, in Abuja Municipal Area Council. Founder and Executive Director Sewuese Asa led the distribution.

Girls received dignity packs containing sanitary pads, toothbrush and paste, toilet paper, bathing soap and other essentials, alongside a sensitisation session on menstrual hygiene. The outreach was built around the 2024 theme, “Girls’ Vision for the Future”.

The purpose of the programme is to ensure no girl is held back by her period — supporting menstrual health, education and overall wellbeing together rather than treating them as separate problems.

SWEDI Care is more than just products; it is about ensuring that every girl can continue to dream, learn and lead with confidence and dignity.

The school’s Head Girl, Fatima Mohammed, described the session as informative and impactful, saying the girls had learned about the importance of menstrual hygiene and how to look after themselves during their periods, and that she would pass what she had learned on to younger girls.

The outreach drew attention from stakeholders to menstrual hygiene among young girls. SWEDIWorld reaffirmed its commitment to continue advocating for girls’ rights and wellbeing.

The outreach was reported by the News Agency of Nigeria and covered in Abuja Digest in October 2024.

SWEDIWorld at an advocacy and policy engagement

September 15, 2024

Actions to Combat Climate Change Threats, convened by Christian Aid

We attended Actions to Combat Climate Change Threats, an event convened by Christian Aid that brought together stakeholders working on the growing challenges posed by climate change.

The emphasis was on strengthening food security and improving livelihoods for the communities disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters. Through collaborative discussion and strategic sessions, participants explored how to build resilience and sustainable practices that help these communities adapt while supporting long-term development.

Sewuese Asa representing grassroots voices at an international forum

August 24, 2024

Engaging with Saferworld’s Arms Unit

Alongside the Arms Trade Treaty conference, we had the opportunity to engage with Roy Isbister of Saferworld’s Arms Unit. Their expertise in disarmament and arms control contributes significantly to global peace and security efforts.

Their work on mitigating the illicit arms trade and fostering safer communities aligns closely with our own: arms regulation is not an abstract security question but one that shapes whether women and girls in affected communities can live safely.

August 23, 2024

Ninth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty

Sewuese Asa attended the Ninth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, engaging in discussions on illicit arms flows and their impact on regions affected by conflict, particularly across Africa.

Her contributions pressed for greater accountability in arms transfers and highlighted how unregulated arms trafficking falls disproportionately on women and children in conflict zones. The argument was for incorporating a gender lens into arms control mechanisms, so that policy does not only prevent illegal arms flows but actively protects the people most exposed to them.

She also took part in side events where civil society organisations worked on strategies to strengthen implementation of the treaty.

Policy dialogue on ICT for development with smallholder farmers, Abuja

September 19, 2023

Policy dialogue: scaling ICT4D for smallholder farmers in Nigeria

A policy dialogue on deepening partnership for the scale-up of information and communications technology for development among smallholder farmers in Nigeria, convened on 19 September 2023 by the Office of the Vice President together with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the National Information Technology Development Agency and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The question running through the session was how digital tools reach the farmers who stand to gain most from them — and what it takes for that reach to be equitable.

African delegates and advocates at COP26, Glasgow

October 30, 2021

At COP26: African voices in the run-up to the negotiations

Before the official start of COP26 in Glasgow, representatives from organisations across the globe gathered for pre-conference engagements and side events — among them a group of environmental advocates and stakeholders from Africa.

Discussions in the lead-up centred on climate resilience, equitable transitions to clean energy, and the financial mechanisms needed to support green initiatives. With Glasgow set to host some of the most consequential negotiations on climate change, these interactions were vital groundwork for collaboration.

The mood was one of both hope and urgency. Delegates, some attending for the first time, were determined that African voices should be represented at the negotiating table. A common theme was the need for developed nations to meet their financial commitments to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Whether through formal side events or informal gatherings over coffee, the days before COP26 opened were filled with exchanges of ideas, experience and hope — from delegates whose regions and communities are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Capacity-building meeting for health workers on supporting survivors of gender-based violence, FCT

April 16, 2021

Strengthening support for survivors of gender-based violence

A meeting convened by FCT Social Development Services and Spotlight Initiative Nigeria, held from 12 to 16 April 2021, focused on strengthening the capacity of health workers managing cases involving child survivors of violence against women and girls in the Federal Capital Territory.

The goal was practical: improving the skills health workers bring to supporting survivors of gender-based violence, at the point where survivors first encounter the system.