CSR-in-Action Group’s advocacy arm, CSR-in-Action Advocacy, and the African CleanUp Initiative (ACI) have convened the inaugural Women SDG Advocates Conference (WSAC) 2026, bringing together more than 200 women leaders, development practitioners, policymakers, entrepreneurs and civil society actors at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Victoria Island, Lagos, on Wednesday, 11 March 2026. Held to mark International Women’s Day 2026, the conference established a new platform for structured collaboration among women driving sustainable development across Africa.
Convened under the theme Give to Gain: Empowering Women Through Shared Action, the gathering examined how collective responsibility and coordinated effort can accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and deliver measurable outcomes for communities across the continent.
Delivering the welcome address, Dr. Bekeme Masade-Olowola, Chief Executive of CSR-in-Action Group, set the tone for the day’s deliberations with a clear assertion of women’s place at the centre of development.
“Women are not peripheral to development. They are essential to it,” she said. “They are drivers of household stability, community resilience, enterprise, agriculture, health, education, innovation, and social transformation. When small actions are multiplied and systematised, they can create meaningful social, economic, and environmental impact.”
Also speaking at the conference, Dr Alexander Akhigbe, Founder and Chief Executive of the African CleanUp Initiative, positioned the conference as the start of a broader movement for sustained collaboration and impact. “This is not just a conference, it is the beginning of a movement. What has started here today will continue to grow through collaboration, shared commitment, and sustained support. We are building a platform that will amplify the work of women and ensure their impact is seen, strengthened, and scaled across communities,” he said.
The keynote address, delivered by Mrs Kaphayah Olayemi Sarumi, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Office of Sustainable Development Goals and Investment (SDGI), on behalf of Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on SDGI, focused on women as drivers of sustainable development in Africa. Mrs Sarumi, drew particular attention to financial inclusion as a foundational enabler of women’s economic participation and long-term resilience. “When women gain access to financial services, they can save securely, invest in businesses, support their families, and build resilience,” she noted.
A panel session moderated by Ihotu Eritosin-Gregory, Founder of Jewels Network brought together Dr Monica Nwosu, Executive Founder of Fresh Fountain Consulting Limited; Kofoworola Awotoye; Dr. Natalie Beinisch, Co-Founder of the Circular Economy Innovation Partnership; and Agharese Lucia Onaghise, Executive Director of the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance. Their discussion examined how women-led organisations can build the structured partnerships necessary to attract investment and sustain impact over time.
A particularly memorable moment in the programme was the premiere of Earth Women, a multiple award-winning documentary foregrounding the experiences and voices of women from resource-rich communities in conversations about sustainability. The film was released on CSR-in-Action’s official YouTube platform as part of the organisation’s broader advocacy for inclusive and responsible development.
The Conference was supported by IHS Towers, Nestle, Zenera Consulting, BudgIT and the Lagos State Government, whose partnership contributed to the diversity of voices and perspectives represented on the day.
Organisers have indicated that WSAC is conceived as an ongoing platform rather than a standalone event. The intention is to build a sustained space where women leaders, advocates and development practitioners can move from ideas to implementation, deepening networks and generating the partnerships necessary to advance women-led solutions across the continent.