Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, has received the Trade and Investment Personality of the Year Award at the 7th Africa Public Sector Conference and Awards (APSCA 2026), held in Accra, Ghana, from October 14 to 16, 2026.
The award recognises her contributions to investment promotion, trade facilitation, industrial development and enterprise growth in Lagos State and across Africa.
The conference brought together more than 300 public sector leaders and policymakers from over 10 African countries under the theme, “Governance 2030: Resilient Institutions for a Digital, Green and Secure Africa.”
The event featured prominent dignitaries, including Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff to the President of Ghana, who officially opened the conference; Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria; Felix K. Koskei, Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service of Kenya; and Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Other notable participants included Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; Ghana’s Minister of State for Public Sector Reform, Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba; and Gaone Macholo, Chairperson of the Board of Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund.
Ambrose-Medebem also delivered a keynote address at the Women, Governance and Trade Forum, where she highlighted the importance of inclusive leadership and women’s contributions to Africa’s economic transformation.
According to the selection committee, the commissioner earned the recognition through her achievements in investment mobilisation, small business financing, industrial policy reform and improvements in the business environment.
Within her first year in office, she facilitated more than ₦50 billion in foreign and domestic direct investments. A major achievement was the ₦38 billion investment by Twinings Ovaltine Nigeria Limited to establish its first full-scale manufacturing facility in Africa. The project is expected to create 112 direct jobs, more than 200 distributor positions and generate over $8 million in exports across West Africa.
She also introduced the Lagos State Access to Finance for SMEs through Cooperatives (LASMECO), a programme backed by a ₦10 billion fund that provides non-collateralised loans to small businesses at a single-digit interest rate of 9%. The initiative was subsequently adopted as a model framework for micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) financing reforms at the 16th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment.
In addition, Ambrose-Medebem championed the Lagos State Industrial Policy 2025–2030 to provide long-term certainty for investors and strengthen the state’s industrial competitiveness. Her efforts also supported the strategic positioning of the Lekki Deep Sea Port and Lekki Free Trade Zone, including the facilitation of a $50 million investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The committee also cited Lagos State’s first-place ranking among Nigeria’s 36 states in the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Ease of Doing Business Index, with a score of 85.6%, as evidence of improvements in digitalisation, regulatory efficiency and the investment climate.
The commissioner’s achievements extend to the cooperative and MSME sectors. Lagos State now has more than 3,000 active cooperative societies with an annual financial turnover exceeding ₦70 billion. Meanwhile, over ₦8.4 billion has been disbursed to 12,710 MSMEs through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).
The selection committee further highlighted her more than two decades of senior management experience in leading companies, including Diageo, Lafarge Africa, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ford Motor Company and Zurich Financial Services, alongside her experience in public service.
In her acceptance remarks, Ambrose-Medebem dedicated the award to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the people of Lagos State, describing the recognition as a reflection of their collective commitment to expanding trade, attracting investments and strengthening enterprise development.
She stated that the era of government merely directing the private sector had passed, advocating greater collaboration and co-creation between government and businesses. She also reaffirmed Lagos State’s ambition to grow its economy to between $800 billion and $1 trillion by 2052.
Appointed commissioner in September 2023, Ambrose-Medebem holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from London Guildhall University and an MBA from the Open University Business School in the United Kingdom. She is also a Certified Management Professional with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), UK.
Her previous public service experience includes roles at Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. In 2026, she also received the Excellence in Trade and Investment Award from the European Business Chamber (EuroCham) Nigeria.