MEET: Folashade Ambrose-Medebem The Lagos State Commissioner in Charge of Cooperatives

Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, MBA, FPA, IFA a delectable and pragmatic woman of substance with an intimidating technocratic profile is the Honorable Commissioner, Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade & Investments (MCCT&I) in Lagos State, Nigeria. We know with her profile the Ministry is about to witness a giant stride in the achievement of the THEMES Plus Agenda of Mr. Governor

Folashade is a consummate multi-faceted and proven business leader with an extensive background in finance, strategy, project/change management, business development, thought leadership, sustainable development, and management consulting across a wide industry spectrum in the UK, Nigeria, and Europe.

She is a Lady with exceptionally diverse business management skills, very apt at overcoming challenges, coupled with effective organizational skills, excellent stakeholder relationship management, an entrepreneurial mindset to ‘make things happen’, marketing know-how, and flair for creativity, innovation, and a passion for people development.

Medebem has almost three decades of senior management experience delivering world-class strategic business transformation solutions with a variety of global FSTE 100 multinationals including LafargeHolcim Plc., Diageo Plc., PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ford Motor Company, Zurich Financial Services, Learning & Skills Council UK, Nigeria Ministry of Finance and Department for International Development (DFID) UK.

Throughout her career in the private sector, she has successfully led and executed robust business transformation strategies pivotal in achieving sustainable growth. She has an excellent record of bottom-line achievements in the deployment of large-scale business solutions and in leading cross-functional global teams at the board level.

A proven track record in setting clear direction and priorities, and addressing non-performance challenges/gaps with sensitivity, pace, and a sense of urgency.

Medebem was appointed as Director of Communication, Public Affairs & Sustainable Development, at Lafarge Africa Plc. in October 2016. Prior to this role, she worked as an Integration Business Transformation Consultant for LafargeHolcim (LH) (2015) focusing on enabling a speedy integration (following the worldwide merger of LH) in order to deliver the country’s business ambition as one holistic organization in Nigeria. She also successfully led the culture transformation phase one focused on delivering a safe and high-performance culture.

In addition to her corporate profile, Folashade serves on the NESG 24 Executive Committee, is a member of the UN SDG Nigeria – Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) – Cluster 8 Co-Lead to the Federal Government of Nigeria and is the leading catalyst driving Women in Manufacturing Africa (WimAfrica) initiative, and the board of the United Nations Global Compact Nigeria. She sat on the board of the EuroChams(European Business Chamber) Nigeria where she served as the Inaugural President, working with the Ambassador of the European Union to Nigeria and to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) advocating the promotion of trade, investments and exchanges between European and Nigerian Businesses, inclusive of best practices and corporate social responsibility.

Folashade graduated with a B. A Hons in Accounting Finance (1995) from the London Guildhall University. She also holds an MBA from the Open University Business School, UK (2011). In addition, Folashade is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School (Pan Africa University) where she completed an Advanced Management Leadership Programme (2010). Further postgraduate studies include the Women Transforming Leadership Programme with the Said Business School, Oxford (2018) among a plethora of other professional certifications.

Folashade has notably been recognized as one of the top 50 Inspiring Women in Nigeria by Business Day, Guardian Woman Top Inspiring List of Women, Leading Ladies Africa – Top 100 Women List, and the United Nations Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) Climate Action Edition.

Additionally, Folashade was appointed a Senator representing Nigeria at the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF), an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFL), which aims to ease access to finance, promote gender parity and financial inclusion, and create more jobs and social justice. Under Folashade’s leadership, Lafarge Africa was awarded the Gold MEA HoleimGroup CSR Award twice (2019 & 2020) and ranked 4th (from 50) by Forbes Africa Top CSR/Sustainable Brand, 2020.

Having spent the majority of her life and career in the UK, a huge challenge Fola faced was stereotyping however, she quickly learned the best way to respond to criticism is to simply perform and deliver.

Folashade enables every woman to become her best self and “wiin” in her career. WIIN means Women Inspiring Impact Network, a platform Folashade designed to provide insightful guidance and mentorship to young and discerning women to enable them to achieve higher levels of success.

“I am very passionate about helping women succeed in the workplace through discovering and applying their best selves. My primary mission is to drive opportunities for impact by encouraging women to speak up in the workplace and by sharing how to implement career-winning strategies. This is why I have established the Women’s Inspiring Impact Network (WiiN) focusing on enabling winning impact for all interactively.” She said.

Folashade is married to her husband of many years Iyke Ambrose-Medebem and has three beautiful girls. A philanthropist, in addition to giving back to career women, she is also passionate about mentoring and coaching teenagers to be their best. She is a huge classical music fan, who loves to exercise.