Mrs. Doris Okechukwu Mbadiwe is a woman with sterling attributes. She has distinguished herself on many fronts ranging from corporate governance, infrastructure development and law to women empowerment and development.

Doris Mbadiwe is an Executive Director in Inter-Bau Construction Ltd, a leading, award – winning indigenous construction company which has been in existence for almost four decades. She has been active in the company for over 14 years.

Inter-Bau has delivered notable  capital projects such as: The Onitsha River Port Project, Utor Road and Bridge Project which links Edo and Delta states and the recently completed Port Harcourt Airport, to mention a few.

She is a tradeswomen activist who believes that women should be well represented in all stages of infrastructure  delivery in Nigeria and globally, as women are also the main users of infrastructure and make up to 50% of the population in Nigeria.

She is a member, Board of Trustees, Inter-Bau Foundation, a non-profit organisation established to train and equip women and youths with practical construction skills while bridging the gender gap in the construction sector in Nigeria. Her passion for seeing women and girls seize opportunities and thrive in the construction sector led to the foundation adopting a 60:40 ratio of women to men trainees so women could benefit from the free training. She included self defence (women only), entrepreneurship, gender diversity & inclusion, as part of the soft skills courses knowing the concerns that women  have operating in a male dominated environment and sector. She advocates that the potential of women and girls should be harnessed to bridge the skills gap in the sector as all careers are gender neutral.

She is also, Construction Sector Lead, Nigeria & West Africa, Women in Infrastructure Community Africa (WICA). WICA is a professional women advocacy and capacity building platform for sustainable infrastructure in Africa. As the Construction Sector Lead, Doris encourages and promotes diversity in Infrastructure, advocates for meaningful participation of women in the infrastructure sector which will enhance sustainable socio-economic development, women empowerment, mitigate poverty and boost the emergence of resilient cities.

Doris is also Co-founder/Head, Contracts & Partnerships Afrigrants, an indigenous social enterprise set up to build capacity, mobilize resources and build collaborations to respond to the complex challenges facing African communities in the areas of education, entrepreneurial development and agriculture. Afrigrants has designed solutions that simplify the process of seeking funding/financing by working with start-ups and entrepreneurs to identify and secure financing for their business ventures. This financing includes low interest loans, grants, convertible debt and equity. Afrigrants provides business advisory services throughout the application and financing process.

Her prior working stints include, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Lagos and the prestigious law firm of Ajumogobia & Okeke where she gained valuable knowledge and experience.

Doris is a distinguished member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN), Amnesty International and UN Women Nigeria (Private Sector Group)

She holds an Honorary BA Law degree of Carleton University, Ottawa Canada; BL degree, University of Buckingham UK and an LLM Degree (Law & Development), University of London (UCL).

It is in recognition of her contribution to national development in the sphere of Women Empowerment and Development that Mrs. Doris Okechukwu Mbadiwe was deemed worthy to be conferred with the Woman of Merit Gold Award (WMGA) which is part of the 21st PSR National Awards.