PROFILE: Chalya Shagaya’s Journey in the Footprints of Ladi Kwali
The voice of the MC carried a quiet reverence that morning as she invited the next speaker to the podium. She spoke of a woman entrusted with advancing entrepreneurship under the Renewed Hope Agenda, a woman now helping drive the vision of building a one-trillion-dollar economy through the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.
She outlined an impressive journey. Former Director General of the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies (NIAMS). A professional whose footprints exist across oil and gas, arts, fashion, media, and public service.
A certified Forensic Crime Scene Investigator. A Culinary Chef. A professional Photographer. An Advisory and Editor-at-Large at The Will Newspaper, shaping national narratives and mentoring emerging voices.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she said at last, “I present to you…” And the applause that rose was warm, genuine, and respectful. That was the moment Chalya Shagaya walked to the podium calm, assured, and carrying the poise of a woman who has lived multiple lives within one.
Her speech at the 5th WenA Conference in Abuja on 16 October 2024, delivered under the theme, “Policy and Resilience Strategies in a New Economy”, was not merely eloquent. It was anchored, visionary, and deeply resonant. It evoked confidence that Nigeria’s future especially its youth and women-driven enterprise landscape is in steady hands.
It was after listening to her that the image of another Nigerian woman in history resurfaced in my mind—Ladi Kwali, the luminous potter whose genius still shapes our cultural memory. Decades before digital entrepreneurship, venture capital, or innovation policy frameworks, there was Ladi Kwali, the young Gwari woman who molded clay into beauty and beauty into global acclaim.
In the 1950s and 1960s, she showcased Nigerian pottery on international platforms, blending culture, craft, and commerce with an audacity that defied her time. Her artistry became our national identity. She trained artisans at the Abuja Pottery Centre.
Her legacy lives on in homes, museums, and on the N20 note. She built an economy from humble clay long before creative industries became a national conversation. What she did for Nigeria’s cultural economy then is what women like Chalya Shagaya are doing for Nigeria’s modern enterprise economy today.
The connection between both women becomes clearer the more one studies their journeys. Ladi Kwali shaped clay. Chalya Shagaya shapes opportunity. Ladi trained artisans. Chalya is empowering entrepreneurs. Ladi projected Nigerian creativity to the world. Chalya is projecting Nigerian enterprise into global markets and digital ecosystems.
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Chalya’s academic and professional path mirrors this versatility. With a Bachelor’s degree in Justice, and two Master’s degrees one in Management Information Systems and the other in Entertainment Business—she has built capacity in systems thinking, governance, creativity, and business strategy.
She is a creative by instinct, a strategist by training, and a leader by practice. Her career spans oil and gas operations, maritime institutions, capital markets, media leadership, and the arts. She has founded businesses, managed brands, advised corporate leaders, and expanded access to opportunities for women and youth for over two decades.
It is this breadth that makes her appointment as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development in Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy a strategic masterstroke. She understands enterprise not in theory, but through lived experience through the grit, growth, and evolution that define real entrepreneurship.
Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, she is strengthening MSMEs, expanding digital access, fostering innovation, and driving collaboration between government and the private sector. Through the ₦75 billion single-digit loan scheme for small businesses, the ₦50,000 Presidential Conditional Grant for nano-enterprises, digital learning hubs, creative economy support, and enterprise partnerships, she is helping rewrite the stories of thousands of local businesses.
Her work is not limited to policy; it is equally people-centred. She championed the Set4lyf initiative, providing skills to 180,000 girls for leadership and economic independence. She facilitated Nigeria–Indonesia enterprise dialogues to open new markets for Nigerian products.
She supported creative industry expansion through initiatives with Chocolate City Group. And through engagement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, she is promoting financial literacy and widening MSME access to capital markets helping small businesses scale, not just survive.
Chalya’s journey reflects a new generation of Nigerian women who carry both vision and versatility. Women who merge creativity with policy. Women who embrace leadership with depth, empathy, and intelligence.
As she marks her first year in office, her influence continues to expand. She has become a symbolic bridge between Nigeria’s legendary past and its ambitious future—connecting the legacy of women like Ladi Kwali to the aspirations of modern Nigerian youths searching for opportunity, direction, and empowerment.
Nigeria’s story has always been shaped by remarkable women. Ladi Kwali shaped our past. Chalya Shagaya is shaping our present. And both, across time and generations, continue to mould a nation rising on the shoulders of women who dare women who build, inspire, and transform.
Kabir Abdulsalam writes from Abuja. He can be reached via: [email protected]
