Alitheia Capital, a leading impact investment and gender-smart private equity firm in Lagos, will convene women entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders and policymakers for W.O.M.A.N. 2026 (Women in Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Nutrition) in Lagos, from Thursday 10th to Friday 11th September 2026.
Alitheia’s flagship annual conference, now in its 3rd edition, is held under the theme ‘Scaling Women-Led Manufacturing, Agribusiness & Nutrition MSMEs: Providing pathways to Capital, Energy, AI and Markets for business resilience’.
This year’s edition will gather more than 300 screened women-led businesses in manufacturing, agribusiness and nutrition, as well as donors, philanthropic foundations, and development finance institutions, to advance action that unlocks capital access, growth, and transformation plans for women-led MSMEs actively shaping Nigeria’s real economy.
The two-day programme will connect these high-potential entrepreneurs with investors, capital allocators, market makers, and technical specialists committed to inclusive growth.
The programme is designed not as a conference but as a working event, focused on building resilience and effective relationships that turn ecosystem challenges into investment opportunities. Each participant gains a concrete outcome: a finance-readiness assessment, a capital provider conversation, a new technical skill, or a valuable market connection they did not have before Alitheia’s national gathering.
Alitheia Capital’s Managing Partner, Tokunboh Ishmael, said: “The gathering brings an ecosystem closer together to deliver systemic strategies that overcome challenges women face in labour markets and economic empowerment. We are advancing women-led businesses with revenues, customers, and growth intent. The constraint is not ambition — it is access. W.O.M.A.N. 2026 is built to close that gap directly.”
The 300 plus founders were sourced and screened against revenue threshold, formalisation status, and demonstrated growth potential. They represent three sectors central to Nigeria’s economic base and diversification agenda: agribusiness and value-chain operations, food processing and nutrition, and light manufacturing and packaging.
The conference will kick off with a keynote address by Mrs Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, Co-Founder of WIMBIZ and CEO & Founder of DO.II Designs Ltd, speaking on how to build and scale investment-ready women-led enterprises in Nigeria. The day-one programme will also include sessions on the evolving policy, regulatory, and infrastructure environment; the financing environment for small and growing businesses; and how green manufacturing can become a lever for cost reduction and operational resilience. Masterclasses will address investment readiness, financial statements, unit economics, governance, and capital structuring, and energy and cost efficiency. A speed consultancy session will pair founders with investors, lenders, and advisers through structured one-to-one conversations.
Day two shifts from argument to application. A hands-on Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption bootcamp delivered by the Google Hustle Academy equips founders with digital tools applied directly to their own businesses.
The conference will conclude with a cohort of businesses being onboarded onto the Nzinga platform, through which Alitheia Capital will track participant progress — capital raised, jobs created, revenue growth — over the next twelve months.
W.O.M.A.N. 2026 is supported by institutional partners including FCMB SheVentures, Airtel, StarSight, RenCom, LATC, Bank of Industry, FCDO Manufacturing Africa, Google Hustle Academy, the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), SMEDAN, and the Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment (CCTI). Media coverage is provided by African Private Equity News, BusinessDay and BusinessDay TV, ImpactAlpha, News Central, and Tech Cabal.