close
Women Times

Empowerment

Empowerment

Olam Agri Deepens Investment in Women’s Economic Empowerment, Unveils Baking Academy in Kano

by Women Times on

Olam Agri in Nigeria, a leading agribusiness in food, feed, and fibre, has launched a baking academy to train and economically empower more women in the country.

The academy located in Kano state builds on the pillars of the Seeds for the Future Foundation’s Crown Flour Angels (CFA) initiative.

Crown Flour Angels, is an economic empowerment initiative of Olam Agri’s wheat-milling business Nigeria. It aims to equip women with baking skills and enhance their earnings while enabling them to contribute meaningfully to their communities and the national economy. The launch of the baking academy is targeted at extending the impact of the economic empowerment initiative and deepen the agribusiness’ human capital development contributions to the Federal Government’s economic development agenda.

Speaking during the launch of the academy, Mr Ashish Pande, the Country Head for Olam Agri in Nigeria, said, “Olam Agri in Nigeria is a strong player and contributor to the Nigerian economy. Through the pillars of our Seeds for the Future Foundation, we seek to continuously empower local women.”

“We believe that an investment in human capital development on a broader scale will engender national prosperity, and investment in educating women is key to enhancing the livelihoods of families. The Crown Flour Angels initiative is targeted at equipping keen women with the requisite baking skills to enhance their earning potential,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mrs Bola Adeniji, Head of Marketing, Olam Agri Nigeria, explained that the launch of the CFA Baking Academy follows the successful facilitation of baking training for over 250 International Cake Exploration Société (ICES) women in Lagos by the business under the auspices of the same initiative.

According to her, “The launch of the Baking Academy offers a scaled support framework for women across regions; and the choice of Kano is strategic. The global bakery product market size was $397.90 billion in 2020. The market is projected to reach $590.54 billion in 2028. This growth projection presents an opportunity for bakers, including graduates from our baking academy. We are proud to be launching our women into this prosperous market through our initiative.”

Guests at the launch event include the Emir of Kano, HRH Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the representative of the Kano State Governor, Dr Ibrahim Gaya, who is also the Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural and Community Development; Alhaji Abdul Munaf Yunusa, the Chairman of Azman Air, Dr Faruk Umar, the Director, Greenwich Merchant Bank, amongst others.

The Emir of Kano applauded Olam Agri for locating the baking academy in Kano. He remarked, “Olam Agri in Nigeria has done well by locating this academy in our state. The academy will help build our community by giving our women the opportunity to learn the skills that will yield good incomes for their households when put to commercial use.”

The representative of the state Governor, Dr Ibrahim Gaya, said, “Olam Agri’s investment in Kano state attests to the state’s peace and impressive security levels. The Governor and the traditional rulers have never relented in their efforts to keep ensuring growth in the state. We, therefore, invite more businesses to emulate Olam Agri.”

 

read more
Empowerment

NCC Hosts Nigeria Girls Can Code Competition

by Women Times on

As part of its efforts at promote digital literacy and skills of young schoolgirls in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced the maiden edition of the Nigeria Girls Can Code Competition (NGCC) in line with the catch-them-young global initiative.

According to the commission, NGCC aims to engage girls in secondary schools across the country to debate on innovative ways to address the challenges of food security through the application of fifth generation (5G) technology.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta represented by  the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC Ubale Maska, during an award presentation ceremony at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.said the competition was designed to enhance digital literacy skills and bridge the digital divide between the men and women.

He stated that the inclusion of girls in the ICT was in line with the United Nations’ efforts to empower girls in tech and close the digital

He said: “The competition has been designed to enhance digital literacy and skills for the country’s emerging digital economy, bridge digital inequality, improve digital access as well as narrow the digital divide between men and women in the ICT innovation and development.

“The Nigerian girl can code competition is also framed to support technology skills learning for girls and promote broader national audience amongst others.”

According to him, “empowering women and girls will fuel thriving economies, spur productivity and growth.

“Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps.”

The EVC stated: “We believe that critical societal problems can be solved using technologies such as artificial intelligence, internet of things and data analytics.

“Application of these emerging technologies in agriculture has the potential to increase both operational efficiency of farmers and the yield of the land. It will provide competitive edge needed by farmers in terms of accurate decision making, improved productivity, and efficiency.”

According to him, the aim of the Commission organising the competition was to: “empower women and young girls through technology skills and leadership opportunities to present and promote their schools support for STEM programme, and show them capacity for innovation to leverage ICT to ensure equitable and quality lifelong opportunities.”

In his remarks, the Chairman, NCC Board of Commissioners, Adeolu Akande, stated that the competition was designed to address the challenges of digital inequality, bring equity and narrow the digital gap between men and women in ICT

He disclosed that the winners of the competition were selected based on the application functionality, innovation, accessibility, commercial potential and overall national impact.

 

read more
Empowerment

Polaris Bank Supports Evolve Commitment to Tackle Global Climate Change By Educating The Girlchild

by Women Times on

Evolve, a non-profit organization that focuses on girl-child education, and its lead partner, Polaris Bank have restated their commitment to curbing global warming through intervention in the girl-child education in Nigeria.

The Evolve programme, which was launched in 2020 to address the global challenge of climate change through the education of underprivileged girls, is designed to impact over 50,000 direct beneficiaries and 200,000 indirect beneficiaries in the next five years.

Speaking on the impact of the project, The Managing Director, Pacegate Limited, Mr. Umesh Amarnani, said “The Evolve CSR program aims to ensure girl-child education and empowerment to help curb global warming and make an impact in the community.

“At Pacegate, we are committed to building a more sustainable and responsible environment where every girlchild feels valued, empowered, and can contribute to the society at large. We strongly believe that through the schools’ supplies provided, value-based education being taught to school teachers and support received from our sponsors, the girlchild will have access to a higher level of educational opportunities,” Mr. Amarnani added.

Also commenting on the initiative, Polaris Bank’s Group Head, Customer Experience Management & Sustainability, Bukola Oluyadi, said “We recognize that education and youth empowerment are the most significant indicators of social progress. Our commitment to these has been the drive for the empowerment of the girl-child and thus the partnership with Evolve. Since 2021, we have partnered with Evolve and adopted several schools across Nigeria to cater for the needs of the girl child.”

Evolve has a clear mandate using S-connect approaches adapted from Heartfulness Institute Hyderabad. Through the S-connect, Evolve initiative reaches out to educational institutions mostly secondary schools across the country by providing their female students with basic school supplies in fulfillment of Evolve’s mission to tackle Climate Change by empowering the girl-child. Since its inception, Evolve in collaboration with all of its partners has donated school supplies including school uniforms, sandals, notebooks, pens, and bags to over 10,000 female students in 32 schools across 9 states in the country.

In 2022, Evolve also launched Inspire program to specifically impact teachers. Inspire is a value-based education enrichment program that assists educators to develop a heart-centered approach to teaching. The focus is to enable teachers to take a holistic approach towards student growth using 21st-century styles of learning such as the Heartfulness Way.

Evolve is the CSR arm of ADIPRO Chemicals, executed through Pacegate Limited and PEARL in Nigeria. The Girl Child Education Initiative was launched based on the Project Drawdown Report to address global warming by focusing on educating the girl child. In the past twenty-five years, the global community has learned that nurturing the ambition of each girl can shape the future of all. Women with more years of education have fewer and healthier children and actively manage their productive health. Education also helps to equip women to face the most dramatic climatic changes.

Asides Polaris Bank, Evolve has received support from other partners to achieve its mission of empowering girls to eventually reduce global warming. These partners include OVH Energy Marketing now NNPC Retail Ltd, Bic and Crownstar who have supported Evolve with school supplies as well as Hill and Knowlton strategies, an international PR consultancy supporting the project with media and publicity.

read more
Empowerment

2023 Elections: WISCAR Hosts Special Fundraiser to Support Credible Female Candidates

by Women Times on

In a positive move cementing efforts to promote gender equality and women’s participation in leadership, Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), a leading not-for-profit and non-governmental organization recently held a special fundraiser to support credible female candidates running in the 2023 elections. The fundraiser was held in collaboration with renowned author and women’s rights advocate, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Amina Oyagbola, Founder and Chairperson of WISCAR, emphasized the importance of the fundraiser in motivating action toward women’s inclusion in governance. She said, “In line with our mission of developing women to build a better nation, we understand the necessity of galvanizing action to accelerate women’s inclusion in governance and ensuring active female participation in all spheres of our nation. In the 2019 elections, we were disappointed by the decline of female representation in all strata of governance. As 2023 is a critical election year, we have taken this step to galvanize support and raise funds to boost the campaigns of credible female candidates across party lines running for various offices for the good of the nation.

We are non-partisan and non-political and are therefore not concerning ourselves with political parties. Our focus is on the viability of the candidates and equitable female representation. We must all agree that the solutions to our national questions lie in the hands of all of us. Our shared prosperity, the development and growth of our economy, and the welfare and progress of our people must be established and secured by all Nigerians. That is why the democratic ideal of all-inclusive governance must be promoted and given great importance.” She concluded.

Renowned author and women’s rights advocate, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The concept of the fundraiser was birthed at the recently concluded 2022 WISCAR Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference in which Ms. Chimamanda Adichie gave the keynote speech as the Distinguished WISCAR Awardee. During the event themed “For the Nation, The Power of Inclusion”, she had the opportunity to discuss with female candidates and other members of the community on the urgent need to enable women’s political participation and accelerate women’s inclusion in governance.

Commenting on the fundraiser and its contribution to the development and growth of Nigeria, Chimamanda Adichie revealed, “The case for women candidates and political representation is not about women being better, but that women are full citizens. If we want a better democracy, we should also want better representation, as you cannot have half of the population severely underrepresented in governance. Role models are important because when we see what is possible, then we are more likely to think that it is doable. I believe in Nigeria so I am very happy to see that there are women who also believe and are working to make our nation better but this cannot be achieved without men. The advocacy for the inclusion of women cannot be actualized without the collaboration and participation of men. We all have an opportunity today and during the upcoming election to make a difference that counts.”

Some of the female candidates present at the fundraiser event include Hawwah Gambo, House of Representative candidate; Ireti Kingibe, Senatorial candidate; Adeola Azeez, House of Representatives candidate; Simi Olusola, State House of Assembly candidate; and Joyce Daniels, Local Government candidate. The organizers also recognized a Governorship candidate, Dr. Aishatu Binani, and a senatorial candidate, Dr. Idiat Adebule, in absentia.

WISCAR continues to call for donations to raise funds to support women and invites the larger Nigerian community to consider contributing to the cause via its website. An increase in women’s participation in governance will result in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizens’ needs and welfare, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and a more sustainable future for all.

read more
Empowerment

Call for Applications to Participate In Coding Camps

by Women Times on

Women Tanzania is launching a call for applications to qualified girls to participate the first coding camp to be held in Mbeya, from 27th February – 10th March 2023.

 

The coding camps are coordinated in close collaboration with United Republic of Tanzania (Mainland and Zanzibar) through the:

  • Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups
  • Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology
  • Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

 

See details on the programme and application process

read more
Empowerment

Organisers Announce Screening Exercise for 19th Miss Niger Delta Ambassador for Peace and Development

by Women Times on

In a bid to further support the development and growth of young females from the Niger Delta and promote socio-economic and human capital development across the region the Miss Niger Delta Peace and Cultural pageant has announced the screening exercise for the 19th Miss Niger Delta, Ambassador for Peace and Development.

According to the organizers, the pageant is aimed at re-awakening the entrepreneurial skills of young females of the region and equipping them with the necessary skill set to be self-sufficient which in turn will propel the growth and development of the Niger Delta.

Speaking about the initiative, the Director of Media and Communication of Miss Niger Delta Organisation, Karina Israel said “female youths of the Niger Delta can change not just the region but the world at large and we must deliberately provide them with the necessary mindset and skills set to explore. This is what the Miss Niger Delta organization is about. To ensure that every lady from the region is given an equal opportunity to represent their various states, the forms have been made free of charge but they must be willing to improve and impact their community and the nation at large.”

While highlighting the immediate benefits to the participants, Miss Israel stated that “every lady who scales through to the finale which will hold this December is a winner as they will all have cash prizes. In addition to that, there will be entrepreneurship training and mentoring as well as starter packs that will be given to all the ladies who make it through to the screening. The winner will be crowned the 19th Miss Niger Delta, Ambassador for Peace and Development and will have a branded official car alongside cash gifts and other interesting prizes. One thing we are certain of is that every Niger Delta young woman who comes through to the main event will go back more equipped and better developed to support herself and affect her community.”

While the form is at no cost and will be distributed to representatives in the 9 Niger Delta states, the screening will be held in Delta State to cater for the Edo, Ondo and Delta State zone. Rivers State will host the screening exercise for Bayelsa, Awka Ibom and Rivers State whereas Imo state will serve as the screening point for Cross River, Abia and Imo States. Various online and mainstream media platforms have also been engaged to further create awareness of the 19th Miss Niger Delta Peace Cultural Pageants.

Since its inception in 1999, the Miss Niger Delta Peace Cultural Pageant has produced over 18 Ambassadors for Peace and Development and supported over 2,000 young women from the Niger Delta through its various empowerment and developmental initiatives. The event aims to economically empower female youths of the Niger Delta by identifying, developing and promoting talents to encourage self-reliance through meaningful engagement.

read more
Empowerment

Five Ways Women Entrepreneurs in Nigeria Can Access Funds For Their Businesses

by Women Times on

Women entrepreneurs play a critical role in economic development by boosting growth and creating jobs yet, they face numerous challenges to financing and growing a sustainable business, including limited access to capital, technology, networks and knowledge resources. In recent times, government and private organisations have started implementing initiatives to address these challenges and support female entrepreneurs in the areas of business training, development, advisory and access to funds.

Here are five ways women entrepreneurs in Nigeria can access funds for their businesses;

Flourish Africa Grants

The Flourish Africa Grant for female entrepreneurs is a N1billion fund to support and promote female-owned businesses in Nigeria. The programme is designed to empower the entrepreneurial activities of at least 2,500 female business owners through funding and structured training over a five-year period by providing cash and organised training. Through the programme, a minimum of 500 female entrepreneurs would be educated each year, after which the top 100 achievers from the pool would be eligible for grants of up to N2 million each.

Herconomy Enterprise Challenge

The ‘Enterprise Challenge’ by Herconomy is designed to empower female-led businesses financially and through grants and continuous mentorship. The annual challenge is opened to female-owned businesses that address at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals and is registered with CAC. Participants get to pitch their business to a group of judges and get the chance to win grants of up to N3 million and possibly get investments.

MTN Y’ellopreneur

The Y’ellopreneur initiative recently launched by the MTN Foundation, aims to build the entrepreneurship skills of 500 Women and support 100 small and medium businesses across the country with a business loan of 2million naira. The program is targeted at female entrepreneurs who display passion and commitment to self-employment and run an existing business of two years and above, especially in the areas of manufacturing and processing.

Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa

The Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa programme is designed to provide female owned businesses across Africa an opportunity to access finance, world-class business training as well as mentoring opportunities. The programme is designed as a 3-month period comprising 12 weeks of mini-MBA training in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and pitching sessions to a Pan-African Jury panel where the top one hundred (100) finalists will pitch their businesses, infusing learnings from the mini-MBA and will stand an opportunity to win financial grants and other consolation prizes.

Women in Tech Incubator

The Women in Tech Incubator (WITI) program aims to support female entrepreneurship, align with calls for more diversity in tech and provide more opportunities for women to develop entrepreneurial and leadership expertise.  The goal of the Women in Tech Incubator in Nigeria is to provide incubation support designed to target early-to-mid stage female professionals from technology and business sectors. The program is targeted at women-led start-up businesses based in Nigeria and which aligns with the United Nations SDG’s.

Credit: The Cable

read more
Empowerment

NNPC, TotalEnergies Set Up Women Acquisition Centre

by Women Times on

As part of effort to provide an enabling environment for women and young people to learn skills and create employment, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Limited, operator of OML 130, and partners have inaugurated a women development and skills acquisition centre in Omu-Aran, Kwara State.

The development and skills acquisition centre was designed to provide an enabling environment for women and young people to learn skills and create employment in Omu-Aran.

The self-sustaining skill acquisition centre is expected to reduce women and youth unemployment and restiveness in the communities around the state, as well as enable them to generate income.

The centre consists of four training halls for fashion designing and tailoring, catering and hotel management, computer training and mixed training facility.

It has a sick-bay, over 400 seater auditorium and lounge supported with a solar power generating unit.

The Chief Upstream Investment Officer, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti, who was represented by Bunmi Lawson, said the project aligned with the sustainable development goals.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive, TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Limited, Mike Sangster, who was represented by the Executive Director, People and Country Service, George Oguachuba, pointed out that the project was among eight projects scheduled for inauguration in November 2022.

He said another 19 projects were under construction and would be inaugurated when completed.

OML 130 partners include NNPC, TotalEnergies Upstream, PRIME (formerly Petrobras), Sapetro and CNOOC.

 

 

read more
Empowerment

PadHer Named One of the World’s Best Education Innovations, Impacts over 2,000 Girls

by Women Times on

Since its founding in 2021, PadHer, an organization that seeks to eradicate period poverty in Africa, has impacted over 2,000 young African schoolgirls. It was recently named one of the “most impactful and scalable innovations in education” by HundrED.org, an organization that seeks and shares inspiring innovations in K12 education. 

“To make this year’s Global Collection, 188 Academy Members consisting of academics, educators, innovators, funders, and leaders from 113 countries performed 3,488 reviews based on their impact and scalability that HundrED’s Research Team then evaluated to make the final collection” says Crystal Green, the Head of Research, HundrED.

“Each year, HundrED compiles and publishes a renowned list of the top innovations in education. PadHer made it to the list this year, yet we are barely a year old. Being recognized quickly as one of the world’s leading education innovations by such a reputable organization is a great honor. This is the push we need to continue doing what we do at PadHer”, said Chika Nwaogu, the founder of PadHer.

Chika continued, “One in 10 girls in Africa miss school during their periods to avoid the embarrassment of bleeding through their uniforms. Many drop out of school altogether once they begin menstruating. Should our young girls miss 20% of school days or drop out due to a lack of information or sanitary products? The plain answer is NO! There’s already a lot standing in their way. Periods should not be one of them”

“We are providing innovative ways to educate and mentor young African schoolgirls in underserved communities on periods and puberty while making sanitary pads free and accessible. In a nutshell, PadHer is making it free, fun, easy, and comfortable to teach young African schoolgirls from underserved communities about periods and puberty using comic books”, Chika Nwaogu added.

Mike Dunn, Director of College Counselling, U.S.A.: “HundrED’s List of the World’s Top Innovations in Education is packed with innovations that truly move the needle in education reform around the world. Meeting the needs of students, parents, teachers, and communities, these world’s best innovations are a go-to resource for anyone looking to catch a glimpse of the wealth of possibility in education innovation and transformation.”

HundrED is a Finland-based, mission-driven, and global organization, that discovers, researches, and shares inspiring innovations in K12 education. Their goal is to help improve education and foster a movement by encouraging impactful and scalable innovations to spread across the world while staying mindful of context.

PadHer is a women-led non-profit organization that uses comic books to educate and mentor young African schoolgirls from underserved communities about periods, puberty, and SRHR topics in order for them to effectively manage their periods and build the self-confidence they need to take control of their future and succeed.
read more
Empowerment

RAK Foundation Pioneer, Ogunlende, Empowers Fallen Heroes Widows To Celebrate Nigeria At 62

by Women Times on
Philanthropist and the Pioneer of Real Act of Kindness (RAK Foundation), Mobolaji Ogunlende, has empowered widows of fallen heroes in Badagry to mark the 62nd Independence anniversary of Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, Ogunlende said that he would continue to encourage everyone in his life to keep working for Nigeria’s greatness.
“I am happy and delighted that this is the only way I have chosen. We have carefully selected this group of people to be empowered today for so many reasons.
“I want to sincerely express my condolences to the loss of your loved ones to active service to the country.
“I decided to celebrate my own Independence Day to empower their widows in my own little way.
“This is to let you know that your husband’s did not labour in vain. This is to keep you going in my own little way and I think other Nigerians will emulate this little way,” he said.
Ogunlende further expressed that this act was inline with the Nigeria National Anthem that says “The Labour of our Heroes past shall not be in vain”.
Ogunlende said that the money was to help the widows upgrade their businesses or increase whatever they were doing.
RAK Foundation pioneer commended the THEMES agenda administration of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
“The last S stands for security. Security is everything, no matter how rich or poor you are, security of life and property come first.
“If you don’t have security, you are not saved. I appreciate the dedication of the Nigeria security agencies to their duties,” he said.
Ogunlende said 15 widows were selected from Military and Police to empower with ₦20,000.
According to him, five are from the 243 Recce Battalion Barracks Ibereko, five from 15 Engineering Regiment, Topo Barracks and five from Badagry Police station.
He urged the widows to take the little gift from him to support their businesses.
Representative of Major Liadi, the Commanding Officer, 15 Engineering Regiment Topo Barracks, commended Ogunlende for extending his merciful hands to the widows in the Barracks.
He hoped that others in the country would emulate this gesture and extend it to the headquarters in Abuja.
Representative of Col. MA Abba, the Commanding Officer, 243 Recce Battalion Barracks Ibereko, Badagry Lagos, said that Ogunlende is a hero.
According to him, any person that empowers a hero’s wife is a hero.
“It is the heart of the man that makes him a man.
“Ogunlende gives without expecting anything for one. God will reward him,” he said.
Also speaking, Mrs Sesi Ogungbe, the Supervisor for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) Badagry-West Local Council Development Area (LCDA) urged the widows to make judicious use of the money.
She said that it takes the spirit of God to be able to give out nowadays.
Mrs. Chinessa Kpanikwu, one of the widows thanked Ogunlende for the gift and promised to use the money to extend her frozen food business.
read more
1 … 5 6 7 8
Page 7 of 8