Smart Stewards’ ELEVATE 2026 To Address Nigeria’s Wealth Gap, Business Sustainability As 3,000 Converge In Lagos

Mary Nnah

With rising inflation, business closures and widening wealth inequality eroding Nigeria’s middle class, financial education organisation Smart Stewards will on Saturday, 19 September 2026 convene more than 3,000 entrepreneurs, investors and professionals in Maryland, Lagos for its 11th Annual Summit, ELEVATE 2026.

The summit, themed “Build a Wealth Dynasty the Economy Can’t Shake: You, Your Children, Their Children,” is designed to address three critical issues facing Nigerians: the collapse of traditional income models, limited access to growth capital for SMEs, and the absence of structures for transferring wealth across generations.According to organisers, the event comes at a time when economic uncertainty is forcing individuals and businesses to rethink how they earn, invest and preserve wealth.

The focus will shift from short-term income to building assets, businesses and financial systems capable of creating value over the long term.

The programme will run in two parts. The Main Summit, scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., is free and open to the public. It will provide practical insights on earning, saving, investing and building sustainable wealth in a volatile economy. Speakers include Dr Ini Abimbola, Dr Niyi Adesanya, Coach Bola Matel-Okoh and Bishop Funke Felix-Adejumo.

The afternoon session will feature the launch of The Founders’ Table, a premium, curated gathering holding from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The session will bring together leading founders, investors and business executives for candid discussions on the realities of building companies that last. Conversations will focus on capital, cash flow, customer acquisition, risk, access to finance and the difficult decisions behind scaling businesses in Nigeria.

Confirmed for The Founders’ Table are Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, co-founder of Andela and Flutterwave and Founding Partner of Future Africa; and Dr Juliet Ehimuan, former Director of Google West Africa and founder of Beyond Limits Africa.

They will be joined by Babatunde Akin-Moses, Co-founder and CEO of Sycamore; Dr Busola Tejumola, Executive Head of General Entertainment at MultiChoice; Dr Yetty Ogunnubi, Founder and CEO of YD Company and FashionEVO; Maryam “Taaooma” Apaokagi-Greene, creator and founder; and Ejiro Amos-Tafiri, fashion designer and founder.

The summit will also draw participation from agriculture, real estate, media, technology and the creative economy, alongside stakeholders from financial institutions, the technology ecosystem and diplomatic missions, including the U.S. Consulate in Lagos.

Speaking ahead of the event, Founder and Lead Coach of Smart Stewards, Sola Adesakin, said the summit is about access as much as information.

“We have never believed that information alone builds wealth. Wealth is built through capacity, through connection, and through access to the right rooms and the right capital. That is what ELEVATE is: a room where founders, investors and everyday builders stand shoulder to shoulder, and where a wealth dynasty stops being an idea and starts becoming a plan. This economy will shake many things. It should not be able to shake what we build together.”

For over a decade, Smart Stewards has positioned financial education as a tool for both individual and economic transformation. The organisation says it has reached more than 100,000 people across 60 countries through its academy, flagship financial literacy programme MINA, corporate training, business advisory services and fintech platform, WealthSync.

With business sustainability and intergenerational wealth now central to conversations about Africa’s economic future, ELEVATE 2026 is positioning itself as a platform for Nigerians to begin building assets, institutions and legacies that can withstand economic shocks.

The Main Summit is free to attend, while The Founders’ Table is a premium, curated experience. Registration is open on the organisation websidet.

Founded in 2015 by chartered accountant and wealth coach Sola Adesakin, Smart Stewards is a financial education and wealth-coaching organisation focused on helping individuals and institutions make, manage and multiply money. Over the last decade it has grown to include the Smart Stewards Academy, the MINA Money Mastery Blueprint, the WealthSync investment platform, the Smart Stewards Junior Club, and community initiatives that have empowered thousands of women and families.

The organisation noted that it has reached over 200,000 people online, trained more than 10,000 learners across 40+ countries, and hosts an annual summit that gathers thousands each year.

Partners include the Mastercard Foundation, the U.S. Consulate in Lagos, WIMBIZ and CcHUB. Smart Stewards operates in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States and is led by Sola Adesakin (FCA, FCCA, CPA, MBA, CFEI), a Forbes Coaching Council member, IVLP alumna and author of eight books.