Tori Abiola joined Montgomery in 2012 as the Managing Director for Montgomery West Africa and now runs Montgomery’s PCO business in Africa. With over 16 years experience working in a variety of marketing, sales and management roles for organisations such as Euromoney Training, Terrapin, IQPC, WBR, First Conferences, Pfizer and the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW), Tori has indeed cut her teeth in various fields.
In August 2013 Forbes Africa listed Tori as one of five women to know when doing business in West Africa. She is the founder of Women of West Africa Entrepreneurship Conference (WOWe).
Tori has a BA (Hons) degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, in Economics and Politics.
“I was born in Lagos, did a couple of years in Port Harcourt, then back to Lagos, where I went to Chrisland in Opebi. I come from a very happy home and family, growing up amidst lots of parties, uncles and aunties and at 10, I moved to England to attend private girls boarding from ages 10-18 in Kent, near Tunbridge Wells – but came back to Nigeria at least twice a year in that period so I had the best of both worlds.” Tori tells me as the interview begins and she continues “I made friends from all over the world and even at that, I remain very proud of my African heritage – which led me to do my first degree at SOAS. My background means that I am comfortable with people from all backgrounds and cultures, it also means I am a naturally generous and supportive person, because I grew up in a family where charity and thinking of others was important.” Says Tori.
Asked why she started WOWe and her response says it all “I started WOWe because I noticed there were lots of programmes for women at the bottom of the pyramid but not so much for middle class, educated, professional women, who also need support. The Facebooks and Googles of this world and major industries usually come from educated privileged people, why should Africa be different in that? What programmes, networks do we have to create our own Google, Facebook entrepreneurs?”
“I also wanted WOWe to be accessible. My inspiration came when I worked for the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales in the commercial department, the institute had over 138,000 members, I thought it would be great to replicate this sort of institution but for women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, West Africa, Africa – where they can network, develop their skills, get updated information and form a body/lobby group that can move their own agenda/priorities. So WOWe was started as a voice and platform for ambitious women”
On the upcoming WOWe 2015, Tori says “I am excited about WOWe this year as the two day event will be on the 25th and 26th of June at Landmark in Victoria Island Lagos. Our speakers are excited, and so are we. It promises to be enlightening and resourceful as we learn to transend our visions to reality”
Speaking further on her transformational experience at ICAEW, Tori says “I attended a women’s event which changed my life – it made me want to go back into running my own business and I embraced the idea and ran with it and decided to share with other women.
Also, there is a new generation of women that is coming out of Africa, I wanted to showcase that type of woman and provide role models for other women. I thought having a background in financial training, awards, conferences and membership organisation I could really add value to this sort of initiative.” Tori narrates.
WOWe’s vision is to help women access finance, make women better business leaders/entrepreneurs and for Tori, the things that are of interest and priority to her is centered around developing great content and experiences at events which cater to key sectors and industries in our economy which will drive economic development, job creation and opportunities for women/young people. “These are important to me. I am also passionate about supporting and harnessing creative talent and sharing good content, driving thought leadership across Africa and globally that makes sense for Africans/Nigerians and takes into account our needs and priorities. So that means I love to work with people passionate about positive impact. I also love to assist in events that will help develop our economy” Says Tori.
If there is one thing missing in Nigeria, Tori says it is love and respect for professions and artisans. She adds “Also, in terms of skills, development, training for critical thinking, creativity, innovation – science, engineering, technology, I wish we could do more. Of course then it’s just service delivery in public amenities/utilities that could be vastly improved. Can you imagine a Nigeria with 100% electricity? The benefits would be amazing.” She believes.
Grateful to her father for giving her quality education, Tori says “I am really lucky my father never gave me the type of education or training which was different or expected any less of me because I am a girl. I never really understood as I grew up why I couldn’t do exactly what God has placed in my heart and as part of capacity, I found the world was still different because it expects less from women, and I don’t think that’s fair to the world or the woman. It’s about creating a level playing field and enabling everyone to live their best life – regardless of gender”. She concludes.
Kemi Ajumobi
