MEET THE SPEAKERS.

As a Director at Next Tech Girls, she has led a movement that has empowered over 10,000 young women to explore futures in technology, driving partnerships with industry giants including Google, PlayStation, Publicis Media, and NatWest Bank. Her true gift lies in connection, linking brands to purpose, communities to opportunity, and audiences to inspiration.

Whether on stage at Google for International Women’s Day, facilitating workshops at Black Women in Tech events across the UK, or sharing insights alongside global leaders at the City of London Corporation’s Women Pivotal into Digital initiative, Gayle commands every room with authenticity, warmth, and vision.

Within the African creative and fashion landscape, she brings a global perspective shaped by years of cross-industry experience and a deep understanding of how visibility transforms lives. As part of Mahogany International, one of Africa’s foremost show production companies and the powerhouse behind GT Bank Fashion Weekend in Lagos, Gayle has played a pivotal role in advising on the upcoming Freetown Fashion Week in Sierra Leone.

Through this work, she continues to champion a new generation of African creatives: confident, connected, and globally competitive. Equal parts visionary and doer, Gayle continues to merge storytelling, strategy, and social impact to build bridges between fashion, media, and technology.

She has been recognised for her impact across industries, receiving awards in media, fashion, and technology, and was most recently featured in the book, Voices in the Shadow, a celebrated collection honouring 51 women whose stories are immortalised to inspire a new generation of women in tech. Gayle’s work embodies a movement, one that celebrates culture, empowers women, and redefines what it means to lead with purpose and presence.

Recognised for her artistry, professionalism, industry knowledge, and influential presence within the beauty and creative sectors, Edith Williams has been carefully selected to lead this immersive experience due to her reputation, expertise, standards, and ability to inspire and elevate creative talent at a high level.

This is exposure, environment, access, visibility, positioning, and transformation.

As Director of AEJ Ltd and CEO of Fashion Souk Global, Asia has built a reputation for designing experiences and opportunities that elevate brands and connect entrepreneurs to global markets. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, curation and execution. Whether advising founders, curating exhibitions or hosting influential business platforms, she approaches every engagement with a clear methodology and a commitment to excellence.

Often referred to as the Curation Queen, Asia is widely recognised for her ability to design and deliver premium showcases that bring together commerce, culture, and community. Through platforms such as Fashion Souk Global and the AEJ ecosystem, she has created spaces where emerging and established brands gain visibility, access new markets, and position themselves for long-term growth.

Her background as a senior project leader across multiple industries shapes the way she works today. Asia applies structured delivery frameworks, disciplined planning, and clear governance to everything she builds, ensuring that creative ideas are supported by systems that allow them to scale. This ability to combine strategy with execution has made her a trusted advisor to founders, organisations and brands seeking clarity, visibility, and global relevance.

Asia is also a compelling corporate host and voice artist, known for guiding conversations with calm authority and bringing energy and structure to business expos, leadership summits, fashion platforms, and cultural events.

She is currently the Creative Art Director of Africa Fashion Week London, where she contributes to the advancement of African fashion, culture and creative talent through creative direction, education, mentorship, strategic partnerships and cultural advocacy. She is also the Founder and Director of TOTE London, a fashion and accessories brand influenced by African heritage, British culture, vintage references and contemporary design.

Her professional journey began in Information Technology and business consulting, where she worked as a Cisco certified consultant and Business Analyst, building a strong foundation in strategy, problem solving and commercial execution. Her entrepreneurial experience has since expanded across fashion, food and wellness, giving her practical insight into brand development, product creation, marketing and business growth. Bola has also developed a strong media presence through television, hosting and public speaking, including appearances on BBC’s Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars and Channel 4 programmes.

At the heart of Bola’s work is a commitment to amplifying African creative excellence, developing talent and creating sustainable opportunities for future generations. Her work in education and mentorship has connected African creative industry perspectives with formal fashion education, while her wider experience spans creative art direction, cultural storytelling, business strategy, brand building, partnerships, mentoring and public engagement. Through each of these areas, she continues to champion the cultural and commercial value of African creativity within the global creative economy.

Through his network, Samson connects people, businesses and opportunities, with a strong focus on supporting emerging talent, entrepreneurs and SMEs. His ability to mobilise and engage a large international community gives him a valuable perspective on talent development, employment, visibility and economic opportunity within the creative industries.

He is also the co-founder of GIDI Jobs, a recruitment agency supporting SMEs with recruitment, talent acquisition and HR needs.

Professionally, Samson is a Senior Programme and Projects Manager specialising in digital healthcare transformation, bringing together experience across community, technology, recruitment, business and talent.

Through E3 Digital, he guides non-technical founders from concept to launch, providing technical leadership without the cost of a full-time hire. He also founded TrackThatRide, a UK delivery tracking platform, and is developing a new venture in AI.

His work connects technology, creativity and business, helping entrepreneurs validate ideas, build with purpose and create opportunities for growth.