Folake Soetan, Managing Director of Arahas Global Oilfield Services, a Sahara Group company, has launched the Folake Soetan Golden Circle Initiative to nurture emerging female leaders through mentorship and educational support.
The launch marks the beginning of activities to celebrate her 50th birthday and introduces the initiative’s flagship programme, the Folake Soetan Leadership Fellowship, also known as the Golden Circle, alongside its second pillar, Akoka to the World.
The initiative is designed as a permanent, multi-year platform focused on mentoring female professionals and providing educational grants to students in the Department of Finance at the University of Lagos, Soetan’s alma mater.
The Golden Circle Leadership Fellowship will operate through a 12-month cascading mentorship model. During the first six months, 20 mid-level female professionals and emerging leaders aged between 25 and 40, known as the Golden 20, will receive mentorship from 19 founding mentors. Participants will also meet monthly with Soetan.
In the programme’s second phase, covering months seven to 12, the Golden 20 will pay it forward by mentoring selected final-year Finance students at the University of Lagos, extending the benefits of the initiative to the next generation of female professionals.
Explaining the motivation behind the initiative and its timing, Soetan said “At 50, I am reflecting on the women who lifted me — women who shared, who listened, who guided. I have been a beneficiary of mentorship, and privately, I have tried to do the same for younger women. The Golden Circle is my way of putting structure to that. We are 19 women pouring into 20, and those 20 will pour into the next generation from my alma mater. That is how we keep the chain moving.”
The initiative aims to develop ethical and transformative female leaders while investing in promising future talent through educational grants. Its broader vision is to establish a self-sustaining legacy of excellence, service and generational impact.
Its mission is to support women leaders and future talent through mentorship and educational grants, creating a lasting ripple effect of empowerment, achievement and service across generations.
A highlight of the launch was a Legacy Voice message from Ibukun Awosika, former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria and a mentor to Soetan. In her message, Awosika encouraged members of the initiative to extend the benefits of mentorship to others.
“Mentorship allows us to benefit from people who have gone ahead. Pay it forward. Let’s keep the chain moving.”
The event, anchored by Oluwasola Obagbemi, featured the symbolic Golden Pairing, bringing together 20 women and 19 mentors around one bowl, as well as the Golden Commitment ceremony. It concluded with a toast led by Tosin Adefeko, Chief Executive Officer of AT3 Resources.
The launch represents the start of a series of activities planned to celebrate Soetan’s 50th birthday on 5 November, with the Golden Circle Initiative establishing a structured platform for mentorship, leadership development and educational support for future generations of women.
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