Queen Consort of the Warri Kingdom, Olori Atuwatse III, has called on governments, financial institutions and global investors to stop treating African women as beneficiaries of charity and instead recognise them as economic assets capable of driving sustainable growth across the continent.
Speaking at the AIM Congress 2026 during a session themed, “World Governments as Incubators for Tolerance and Shared Growth,” Olori Atuwatse III said African women already play a major role in powering the continent’s economy but remain grossly underfunded.
She said financing women should go beyond benevolence and focus on strengthening their agency, entrepreneurial capacity, leadership and ability to build sustainable businesses.
According to her, the Royal Iwere Foundation established the EstablishHER initiative after discovering that many women-owned businesses remained small not because of a lack of ability, but because of limiting beliefs, inadequate mentorship and poor access to appropriate financing.
“We invest in the whole woman first, and then her enterprise. Before anyone sees a business plan, she sees a counsellor, a therapist and a coach. Mindset first is not soft; it is what makes the money work,” she said.
Olori Atuwatse III disclosed that results from the foundation’s 2025 Academy showed that women who could identify their limiting beliefs increased from 45 per cent to 81 per cent, while profit tracking rose from 37 per cent to 78 per cent.
She added that the foundation had launched the EstablishHER Entrepreneurship Fund, describing it as patient capital designed to support women-owned businesses beyond short-term lending cycles.
Highlighting the programme’s impact, the Warri Queen said six graduates had independently launched the HER3000 Initiative, aimed at training 3,000 women in vocational skills, financial literacy and entrepreneurship.
She said another beneficiary, Anabel Ezewu, had trained more than 100 women and youths free of charge through five editions of her own programme, demonstrating how investing in one woman can create opportunities for many others.
Olori Atuwatse III also cited successful women entrepreneurs, including Tessy Emekarhe of Warri, who she said had expanded opportunities for others despite not being recognised by financial institutions as an investable business.
She urged investors to adopt longer-term financing models, replace collateral-based lending with cash-flow and guarantee-backed financing, and prioritise leadership development alongside access to capital.
“A woman who has been established goes on to establish others. Agency does not sit still in a woman’s business; it travels. Women reinvest up to 90 per cent of their income back into their communities,” she said.
Olori Atuwatse III called for a fundamental shift in the way African women are financed, urging stakeholders to focus on building sustainable enterprises rather than simply counting the number of women trained or funds disbursed.
“Do not finance the African woman as a beneficiary. Finance her as an economic asset. Fund formation, not just facilities; price patience into your investments and measure the women they empower, not just the women you train,” she stated.
She maintained that African women should no longer be viewed primarily through the lens of need or vulnerability, arguing that their economic potential represents a major opportunity for Africa’s future.
“We are not asking anyone to be generous. We are asking you to be early. The African woman is an investment in Africa’s future, and those who recognise that today will reap tomorrow’s returns,” Olori Atuwatse III added.