Vanguard News
August 22, 2026
Founder of Africa Women Summit, Belema Meshack-Hart (standing at the middle behind the women) and participants at the 2026 Africa Women Summit held at Hiton Croydon London.
By Prisca Sam-Duru, Croydon London
Women are indeed a rare and divine species. The aura exuded by leaders like Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, Her Royal Highness from Nigeria, African UK beauty queens, entrepreneurs, journalists, and cross-industry executives at the Hilton London Croydon last weekend was nothing short of blissful. Gathering from across the globe in radiant, dazzling attire, attendees at the 2026 UK Convergence of the Africa Women Summit (AWS) set out to chart a bold path forward for themselves, their families, their home countries, and their host nations. Unheard stories were shared, and pathways for lasting future collaborations were birthed.
The summit themed, “Her Power, Her Purpose, and Her Platform”, tackled pressing issues ranging from education and health to culture shock, identity, and marriage. A clear message echoed through the panel sessions: “Start small but dream big. If your dream isn’t bigger than you, you haven’t started. Keep growing, maintain a massive vision, and take bold steps.”
Her Power, Her Purpose, Her Platform
Welcoming participants, AWS founder Belema Meshack-Hart addressed the participants:
“I stand before you today unapologetically as a man who has chosen to dedicate his work to the power, purpose, and platform of women across Africa and the diaspora.
Today’s theme is simple: Her Power, Her Purpose, Her Platform. Three words, three commitments and every single one of them is a promise. A promise that Africa Women make, not just in London, not just today but across the diaspora. We’ve had 7 editions across Africa beginning from Nigeria, then Dubai, Cape Town, Egypt, etc. This year, we had one of the most beautiful events in Zanzibar.
“We refuse to accept a world where the power of African women is discussed in whispers or footnotes. Her power belongs at the center of the room.”
“Her Purpose. Because too many brilliant women have been asked to shrink their visions to fit into spaces too small for them, we are here to say that your purpose does not need to be negotiated.
“Her platform. Across the world, we have watched extraordinary women build extraordinary things with a fraction of the access their counterparts take for granted. That gap is not acceptable and closing it is why this organization exists.”
He further explained the reason Croydon was chosen as the venue. “We chose to bring the UK Convergence to Croydon because the African diaspora in the UK is not a footnote to our continent’s story. The women in this room today are entrepreneurs, executives, community builders, mothers, mentors, change makers who carry Africa’s ambition into boardrooms and high streets across this country.”
Belema then admonished women to ensure they left the conference with stronger partnerships, and relationships that would lead to future collaborations.
Women as Solutions to Challenges
Keynote speaker, British-Ghanaian Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP, rooted the day’s discourse in history, highlighting icons like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and the heroes of the 1929 Aba Women’s War who challenged colonial rule. “Don’t let anybody tell you that African women in politics are new,” Ribeiro-Addy stated. “African women engage in politics at different levels everyday whether or not we are elected to occupy any position. I think about what women are doing in the continent of Africa. Namibia is currently led by a woman. Liberia gave Africa its first elected woman head of state. On women’s political representation, Africa is not catching up with the world in many places; rather, it is leading it.”
She however noted that more still needed to be done, “because in this country we see black women are still nearly four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth.”
She frowned at how black women are treated as a selection of problems to be solved. “Women of African descent are not too often spoken about as people, but as a selection of problems to be solved, and we are most often blamed for that. Most often, black women are viewed as the problem but we could be the solution if people would just listen to us.
Today, we are not waiting for the solution, we are already here, we are the solution. We’ve been doing this work unpaid, and unrecognized for all generations,”she stated.
Mental health expert Dr. Ezinne Gabriel Ezeji delivered a powerful presentation titled “Healing in Full: African Women, Mental Health, and the Right to Thrive with Honor”, urging women to dismantle the stigma surrounding emotional well-being.
“African women are praised for being resilient and strong, but sometimes those words become a cage,” Dr. Ezeji noted. “We need a conversation not about how much women can endure, but about how well they deserve to live.”
According to Ezeji, “African communities openly discuss education, career, marriage, motherhood, and financial independence, but no one asks about another’s heart, and mind” “Mental health remains one of the least discussed aspects of African women’s wellbeing, simply because we have become experts in hiding it. We are afraid of stigmatization,” she stated.
The mental health expert encouraged women to put aside shame and speak up, adding that where health is important, people’s opinion does not matter.
She condemned the notion that women in toxic marriages should always be told to remain strong, and just pray about it while dying in silence, noting such factors as fueling mental health issues.
Addressing domestic realities, Zimbabwean author Gil Geratina shared actionable insights on navigating post-infidelity stress disorder, challenging cultural tendencies to blame women for marital betrayal: “Today, we must place responsibility where it belongs.”
AWS UK President Mariam Seray Cole emphasized collective upliftment and shared her personal story of surviving medical neglect in early pregnancy, which inspired her 27-year career as a UK midwife advocating for ethnic minority mothers.
“A woman who discovers her power does not rise alone—she reaches back and lifts others,” Cole affirmed.
To safeguard economic progress, Angela Adebayo Agbe-Davis, Managing Director of INVENTA Nigeria, educated entrepreneurs on protecting their intellectual property: “Women are powerful creators, but we must become equally proactive about protecting our businesses.”
Panel sessions moderated by figures like Jasmine Cannon-Ikurusi tackled integration and diaspora identity, encouraging women to embrace their native names, accents, and heritage without compromise.
“Our name is our power,” panelists concluded, while offering practical advice for new UK arrivals to prevent loneliness and culture shock.
The life-changing gathering concluded with an awards ceremony celebrating exceptional trailblazers, alongside moving musical performances of Mariah Carey’s Hero and The Lion King’s He Lives in You by Caroline Alfred, bringing the room to its feet in jubilant celebration.
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