17th Global ELOY Conference Speaker Spotlight: Dr. Princess Kelechi Oghene — Founder & CEO, GMYT Group Ltd
As part of our spotlight on the extraordinary women speaking at the 17th Global ELOY Conference themed Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges, we feature Dr. Princess Kelechi Oghene, a visionary leader transforming the fashion and entrepreneurship landscape in Africa.
From a single sewing class to building GMYT Group Ltd with over ten thriving subsidiaries including GMYT Fashion Academy, GMYT Foundation, and the GAH Awards & Business Summit, Dr. Oghene has dedicated her career to creating structured systems that turn talent into thriving enterprises. Her innovative Train → Empower → Scale → Impact model has empowered more than 12,000 women and youth, fostered job creation, and contributed immensely to enterprise development across Nigeria.
In this inspiring interview, she shares her leadership journey, the importance of structure-backed skill, and her call for women to build institutions that outlive them. Her story proves that when purpose meets structure, legacy is inevitable.
Personal Journey & Inspiration
EM: What inspired your journey into leadership, and how has your story shaped the work you do today?
Dr. Princess Kelechi Oghene: My leadership journey began with a single skill, sewing, and an eye for fabrics. But it was never just about fashion. It was about purpose, structure, and the need to solve a systemic problem: the absence of structure and empowerment for artisans, women, and SMEs. I saw talented individuals with no direction, skills without sustainability, and dreams without systems — and I wanted to change that narrative.
What began as a small sewing class has evolved into a thriving ecosystem under GMYT Group Ltd, now home to over ten subsidiaries, including GMYT Fashion Academy, GMYT Foundation, GAH Elite Club, GAH Elite Magazine, the GAH Awards & Business Summit and more, each built with precision and purpose.
Over the years, I’ve learned that leadership is not about position; it’s about responsibility and measurable impact. It’s the ability to create systems that function even in your absence. That’s why at GMYT, our model is Train → Empower → Scale → Impact — a proven structure designed to transform talent into enterprise and enterprise into legacy.
My story has taught me one enduring truth: you can start small, but when you build with structure, discipline, and purpose, you grow into sustainability and eventually, legacy.
Breaking Barriers
EM: The theme of the 17th Global ELOY Conference is Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers. Can you share one barrier you had to overcome in your work, and how you did it?
Dr. Oghene: One of the biggest barriers I faced wasn’t perception, it was the absence of structure and professionalism across the value chain. When I started, fashion and even entrepreneurship at large was seen as informal. There was no traceable system, no institutional model to build from.
I broke that barrier by designing my own systems, operational, educational, and structural. Through GMYT Group, I institutionalised what many thoughts couldn’t be formalised. We built GMYT Fashion Academy into a structured institution recognised for excellence, GMYT Foundation into a scalable empowerment model, and GAH Awards & Business Summit into a continental platform celebrating excellence and innovation, changemakers and nation builders across sectors.
Today, GMYT Group is a testament to what systems, sustainability, and scale can achieve. We’ve moved from being just known as “a fashion initiative” to becoming a legacy institution driving job creation, enterprise development, and youth empowerment across Africa.
Barriers don’t fall through motivation — they fall through execution, results, and repeatable systems.
Industry & Impact
EM: In your opinion, what is the biggest opportunity for women in your industry today, and how can they position themselves to take advantage of it?
Dr. Oghene: The greatest opportunity today is structure-backed skill. The world no longer rewards talent alone, it rewards those who can scale talent through systems.
At GMYT, we’ve empowered over 12,000 women and youth, distributed 500+ sewing machines, and built a thriving alumni network where graduates evolve into CEOs of their own enterprises. That’s not theory — that’s a tested framework for replication.
Every woman and individual must now think beyond creativity; she must think enterprise, strategy, and sustainability. Learn the business of your craft. Protect your intellectual property. Build a brand that can run with or without you.
My advice: document, delegate, and develop systems. Creativity gives you visibility; structure gives you continuity; systems give you sustainability.
Visibility & Influence
EM: Visibility is a powerful currency in today’s world. How has visibility impacted your career or business, and what advice would you give women who want to be seen and heard?
Dr. Oghene: Visibility positioned my mission where it could be heard, but it only became powerful because it was backed by consistent value. Every feature, recognition, and award amplified not me, but the mission.
Platforms like the GAH Awards & Business Summit were not designed for applause; they were built to spotlight others, changemakers, innovators, and entrepreneurs redefining excellence across Africa. That visibility-built trust, attracted partnerships, and opened global doors.
My advice to women: don’t chase exposure, build undeniable excellence. When your work consistently delivers impact, visibility will find you. Influence rooted in value will always outlast fame.
Future Vision
EM: If you could leave the audience with one call to action about building bridges and breaking barriers, what would it be?
Dr. Oghene: Build beyond yourself. Be the bridge others can walk through. Don’t wait for platforms, create them. Don’t look for inclusion, build your own table and extend chairs to others. That’s how the GMYT Foundation was born: to create access. That’s how the GAH Awards & Business Summit began: to institutionalise recognition for African excellence.
Legacy is not measured by what you leave; it’s measured by what continues to function after you’ve left. So, to every woman here, start where you are, use what you have, and build what will last. Profit will fade, but purpose will always endure.
Be the bridge. Be the builder. Be the legacy.
Be in the room where internal and systemic barriers will be broken and bridges will be built at the 17th Global ELOY Conference on the 28th of November at the Lagos Oriental Hotel. Click here to register.
