Our Woman Crush Wednesday is none other than Lola Aworanti-Ekugo, a Digital and Innovation Specialist, who has over 14 years’ industry experience.
Being in a male-dominated industry, she prides herself as one of the few women thriving in the tech space; no wonder she is passionate about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Her passion inspired the founding of TechStart, which aims to address the skills and knowledge gap in Africa’s technology industry by providing individuals with easy access to resources, skills and opportunities. She also mentors women in the Girl Code Academy to bridge the technology knowledge gap.
Her career journey started at Investec Asset Management, London as a software engineer. There she implemented digital solutions in her asset management portfolio. That experience catapulted her to the top of the financial sector, working with brands across Europe and Africa at companies that included Dresdner Kleinwort, Commerzbank and BNP Paribas.
One of the major highlights of her career is leading the Digital Innovation Labs initiative at First Bank of Nigeria. She stood in the front line, developing models for the bank’s digital transformation and innovation strategy in Nigeria and across its subsidiaries.
Lola holds an MBA from Imperial College Business School, London. She is the real definition of ‘beauty and brains’, also having a BSc degree in Business Information Systems with First Class Honours from Middlesex University, London with a scholarship for outstanding academic performance.
With an entrepreneurial spirit, she moved to set up two start-ups, including Transthat, a peer-to-peer logistics platform. As the saying goes that a gold fish has no hiding place, Fintech Africa listed her as one of the 30 exceptional women leaders shaping the Fintech sector in Nigeria. Currently, she serves as Head of Digital and Innovation at Union Bank Nigeria, where she plays a vital and relevant role in this time and age, implementing digital and innovation strategies using technology.
Lola Aworanti-Ekugo caught our eye with her high level of professionalism, exceptional skills, hard work and amiable personality. We admire her zeal and how she works to empower and mentor women in the tech space.