Entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers convened at the Balmoral Convention Center, Ikeja, on November 19th – 20th, 2025, for the Loveworld Trade & Investment Forum (LTIF) 2025. The forum explored the crucial nexus of ethical trade and economic transformation in Africa under the theme, “Trust, Trade, and Transformation”
The foundation of trust
The convener and Head of Commerce at Loveworld, Stephanie Oforka, set the tone of the theme in her opening speech on “Trade, Trust & Transformation: Building Global Enterprises.”
Oforka emphasised that trust is a vital commercial asset: “Trust is not merely a principle. It governs our ethics. It fuels our collaborations and anchors residence in the world. Without trust, markets collapse, partnerships fail, and investors withdraw.”
Highlighting the long-term benefit of a value-driven approach, she added, “Trust is a currency that strengthens nations and unlocks possibilities.”
The focus on authentic and ethical trade underpins the LTIF’s mission to build partnerships that are transparent and mutually beneficial, ultimately transforming lives and strengthening economies.
Purposeful capital
The conversation shifted to the intentional deployment of financial resources during the keynote speech by Dr. Deola Phillips, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Parallex Bank. Speaking on “Purposeful Capital: Financing Enterprises that Transform Nations,” Dr. Phillips redefined the measure of success beyond traditional metrics.
She noted that the old triple bottom line of trade was “profits, people, and the planet.” The new framework, however, integrates impact: “Today, the new triple bottom line of trade is profit, people and prophetic impact,”. This purposeful capital creates transformation through “sustainable return on investment, long term value creation and market competitiveness” for profit, and through “quality, job creation, skills and capacity building” for people’s impact.
Technology as the trust bridge for African commerce
A significant portion of the forum focused on how technology is solving Africa’s unique commercial challenges, particularly the need for financial inclusion and cross-border trust.
In the fireside chat on “Transforming Banking and Lives: The Blueprint of Parallex Bank,” Tina Okunbo, Head of Private Banking at Parallex Bank,, detailed how technology is closing the financial inclusion gap, noting that in Africa, “as long as you have a mobile device, you can actually be served by the bank.”
Mr. Don Okhuofu, Chairman of Kuda Bank, spoke in the panel session on “Bridging Trust Gaps: Technology as the Catalyst for Seamless African Commerce.” He dimensioned the challenge of trust as two-fold: the trans-African trust gap in doing business with each other, and the trust gap in the technology platforms themselves.
“Interactions on the technology platforms are safe. That moves away from the trans African trust gap,” Okhuofu noted, emphasising that technology must be trusted to be a genuine solution for commerce across the continent.
Building investor confidence and global brands
For entrepreneurs seeking investment and global scale, documentation, data, and communication were highlighted as non-negotiable requirements.
Olu Oyinsan, Managing Partner at Oui Capital, stressed the need for African startups to “control the narrative” to build investor trust, especially in emerging markets. He urged founders to “understand that you’re fighting a mental and information war.” Oyinsan reminded founders that a key factor for global investors is the “availability of data that can be trusted.” He also offered a key insight to investors: “If you’re an investor, you’re not a bank, you’re there to back dreams. You are not looking for certainty.”
In the panel session “Building Global Brands from Local Values,” Richmond Bassey (CEO, Bamboo), Douglas Kendyson (Founder & CEO, Selar), and Joshua Chibueze (Co-founder/Co, Piggyvest) provided guidance for scaling in Nigeria’s dynamic regulatory environment.
Bassey noted the importance of dialogue, stating, “Communication with your regulators help you understand where you should be and what direction you should move the business to.”
The power of assets and competence
The forum concluded with powerful lessons on self-development and leadership. Dr. Henrietta Onwuegbuzie, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Lagos Business School, delivered a keynote on “Building Scalable, Impact-Driven Business in Africa.” She challenged the dominance of formal education, stating, “We have to make sure that we’re able to see how we transform young people into assets. People are assets when they’re contributing positively to society.”
Pitching for the future
The forum culminated in a high-stakes pitching competition where five finalists, chosen from Day 1, presented their ventures to secure funding. The top three winners were recognised for their innovative solutions and compelling storytelling.
Danny Ombeh, founder of Lena, won first place and a grant of 10,000 espees (the digital currency owned by the Loveworld nation). The second and third-place winners received 8,000 espees and 7,000 espees, respectively.
