Two Nigerian women, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Mo Abudu, have been named among Forbes’ 100 World’s Most Powerful Women for 2025. The list, published on the magazine’s website Wednesday, recognises women with significant influence across business, politics, culture, and global leadership, highlighting the growing global impact of these Nigerian leaders in trade and media.
They join figures such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (No. 1), European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde (No. 2), Japan’s first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (No. 3), Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum (No. 5), and Namibia’s Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (No. 79).
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, ranked 92nd, is the current Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the first woman and first African to hold the position since March 2021. Forbes describes her as “an economist and international development professional” with over 30 years of experience across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America.”
She previously served two terms as Nigeria’s Finance Minister (2003–2006 and 2011–2015) and briefly acted as Foreign Minister in 2006. Okonjo-Iweala also chaired the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has immunised more than 760 million children worldwide.
A Harvard graduate with a doctorate from MIT, the 71-year-old mother of four is recognised for her belief in trade as a driver of poverty reduction and sustainable development.
Mo Abudu, ranked 98th, is a media entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of EbonyLife Media. She launched EbonyLife TV in 2006, which now airs in over 49 countries, including the UK and Caribbean. Forbes highlights her role in securing major partnerships with Sony Pictures Television, AMC Networks, and Netflix, making EbonyLife the first African media company to sign a multi-title film and TV deal with the streaming giant.
In November 2025, EbonyLife launched a new digital platform, EbonyLife ON Plus, available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Born in London and raised partly in Nigeria, Abudu is recognised as “one of the most influential women in global media.”
This year’s Forbes list also reflects women’s rising influence in technology and AI, including Lisa Su, CEO of AMD (No. 10); Ruth Porat, President and CIO at Alphabet (No. 12); Colette Kress of Nvidia (No. 37); Susan Li of Meta (No. 41); and Amy Hood of Microsoft (No. 16). Notable tech entrepreneurs include Daniela Amodei (No. 73), co-founder of Anthropic, and Sarah Friar (No. 50), CFO of OpenAI.
In entertainment, newcomers like Kim Kardashian (No. 71), who raised $225 million for Skims at a $5 billion valuation, and Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters team (No. 100), commanding a global fan base, also made the list.
