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:
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.
Recently,Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), a leading not-for-profit and non-governmental organization focused on women empowerment and strategic mentoring for professional women concluded the 12th Edition of its Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference.
The Keynote speaker, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche and other panellists led the discourse on the WISCAR Theme “For the Nation; The Power of Inclusion”. During the conference, the graduation of 51 women professionals from the 2022 cohort took place.
The conference which brought together female professionals from all sectors of the economy, welcomed goodwill messages from Sarkin Kano, HRH Muhammad Sanusi Lamido II, the Deputy British High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, Country Representative of UN Women to Nigeria, Beatrice Eyong and the Country Sales manager of United Airlines, Oluwatomi Bola-Sadipe.
Speaking to guests and members of WISCAR at the Conference, the Founder and Chairperson of WISCAR, Amina Oyagbola, highlighted the objectives of the not-for-profit organisation which focuses on leadership development and capacity building through Structured mentorship for female professionals and women empowerment. She expressed her delight over the success and impact of WISCAR’s activities over the years.
She said, “Through the Win-with-WISCAR Mentoring programme and the WISCAR Grow and Learn Initiative, we have impacted well over 15,000 men, women & girls.” Amina Oyagbola also highlighted WISCAR’s achievements in driving inclusion stating: “In 2021 WISCAR was appointed Private Sector liaison partner to UN Women Nigeria to drive private sector support and participation in UN Women/UNGC Women Empowerment Principles. So far, we have surpassed the target of 100 proposed signatories to the (WEPs).”
The event which had over 600 guests in attendance were privileged to listen to a panel session moderated by Tunji Lardner, a renowned Journalist, and Public Servant. The panellists included; Adia Sowho, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria; Tosin Oshinowo, Director, CmDesign Atelier, Hawwah Gambo, Journalist and 2023 House of Representative candidate and Chukwuemeka Onyimadu, National Economist with UN Women Nigeria, held insightful and enriching discussions on the theme. They agreed that to achieve inclusion organisations and individuals must continue to be intentional and deliberate and walk the talk.
The WISCAR Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference also played host to the keynote remarks and fireside chat with renowned author and women’s advocate, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. On her decision to lend her voice at the WISCAR Conference, she said “the WISCAR woman is a solid person. There is something special about receiving this award and recognition at home and by professional women. This award and the entire evening felt so genuine, and I was moved and grateful to be so celebrated.”
This year’s event tagged An Evening With WISCAR, was a fusion of music, spoken word and impact and action-based conversations. It provided the opportunity for professional women with He-for-She advocates to interact, discuss, and build relationships to create new paths that will and enable people to demand fairness, equity, and inclusion of all citizens to move our nation forward.
Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), a leading not-for-profit and non-governmental organization focused on women empowerment and strategic mentoring for professional women has unveiled the agenda for the 12th edition of its Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference.
The 2022 WISCAR conference themed “For the Nation; The Power of Inclusion” is scheduled to hold on the 10th of December, 2022 at Muson Centre, Lagos.
The Annual Conference will feature renowned speakers, policymakers, and thought leaders whose discussions will serve to further the organisation’s commitment to closing the gender gap and empowering the next generation of professional women for leadership. The event which spotlights recommendations for sustainable national development will create an avenue for attendees to engage in open dialogue and networking. As usual the conference will be kick-started with the organization’s flagship 1km mentoring walk on Saturday, the 3rd of December at the scenic Eko Atlantic City.
Commenting on WISCAR and its mission for women empowerment, Amina Oyagbola, Founder and Chairperson of WISCAR, said “WISCAR is a formidable network of female professionals who are equipped to lead, socially innovate, and take critical decisions to contribute to the development and facilitation of a new chapter of experience in the workplace. As a country with a significant female population, there is a crucial need to build a generation of women for leadership and foster collaboration between the genders to sustain a buoyant and vibrant economy. Our annual conference is a platform for networking and capacity building, unearthing useful recommendations that will influence required legal and policy changes for gender equality, inclusive growth, and sustainable national development.”.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, renowned author and women’s rights advocate, is set to headline the conference as its keynote speaker and will be the 11th recipient of the Distinguished WISCAR Award. She will be supported by other distinguished speakers on the keynote panel including Adia Sowho, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria; Tosin Oshinowo, Director, CmDesign Atelier; and Hawwah Gambo, journalist and 2023 House of Representative candidate. The panel will be moderated by Tunji Lardner, Journalist and Public Servant. Goodwill messages will be delivered by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, a past distinguished WISCAR award recipient; Beatrice Eyong, The United Nations Women Representative to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West Africa State; and Ben Llewelyn-Jones, the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria. The event would be anchored by Habiba Balogun Organisational Development Consultant and formally opened by the Executive Governor of Lagos State Mr. Babjide Sanwo-Olu.
Fabia Ogunmekan, Executive Director WISCAR, also reiterated the importance of WISCAR in proffering practicable solutions to national challenges. She said, “The central mission of the WISCAR is to develop women to build a better nation. Our annual leadership and mentoring conference will be leveraged to galvanize action for women’s leadership and active participation in all spheres of the nation’s development. Through it, WISCAR aims to entreat society to take a deeper reflection into the subtle and outspoken ways women have been excluded, weigh the losses against the gains, and be restless and relentless for change, while stepping up to play a part in making this change for a more equal and equitable world happen.”.
WISCAR is committed to empowering and enhancing the capabilities of professional women to contribute to the creation and growth of developmental enterprises in Nigeria. This is achieved through its bespoke and well-structured mentoring programmes that provide strategic career guidance, inspiration, and support to career women. WISCAR has equipped over 15,000 professional women and men with relevant skills and competencies to effectively manage their careers, assume leadership positions, and contribute to nation-building.
WISCAR is supported by a variety of organizations that share a commitment to the cause including First Bank, United Airlines, Pacific Holdings, Shell/SNEPCO, Bank of Industry, FBN Quest, Aella, IHS Towers, Wema Bank, Maersk Nigeria, FSDH Merchant Bank, Sterling Bank, DKK Nigeria, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC, MTN Nigeria, Lotus Bank, FCMB, Dangote Group, Cadbury /Mondelez, Ernst and Young, Nigeria LNG, Mainone, Coronation Merchant Bank, Enterprise Life, EKEDC, Pharm Access Foundation Oyagbola Chambers, AKMS Consulting, Habiba Balogun, Eko Atlantic amongst others.
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
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.
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.
Crown Flour Mill (CFM) Limited, the flour milling subsidiary of Olam Agri, a leading agribusiness in food, feed, and fibre, has successfully empowered a group of indigent women by equipping them with valuable skills in baking. The beneficiaries of the empowerment initiative tagged Crown Flour Angels (CFA) were presented with the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) examination certificates at an event organised by the flour milling business on Friday, September 23, 2022, in Lagos.
The training and certification sponsored by CFM will offer the women the opportunity to take up employment in the hospitality sector, even as a good number of them are expected to set up their very own baking outfits.
Speaking about the Crown Flour Angels initiative, launched in 2021, Ashish Pande, the Country Head for Olam Agri Nigeria, said, “We are committed to enriching the lives of the people across our operating market by providing nutritious, safe and affordable food for the population as well as enabling the actualization of the fine aspirations of the individuals within the population by supporting the economic development agenda of the government.”
According to Pande, “The Crown Flour Angels initiative is one of the valuable levers we are pulling continuously to deliver on the Seeds for the Future programme, our signature value chain development initiative that focuses on supporting farming communities, enabling wider education and skill development for young people, empowering indigent women and promoting health and nutrition across the country.” He congratulated the women and urged them to make the best use of the skills they have acquired at the baking academy.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Cecilia Bolaji Dada, who was the special guest at the event and presented the certificates to the women, commended CFM for its economic development focus and strong support for women.
“The Lagos State Government is aware of the prevailing economic situation and has been initiating valuable schemes that focus on empowering the active segment to boost their productivity and incomes levels. The CFM Crown Flour Angels Initiative would add to the various poverty alleviation and empowerment efforts embarked on by the administration of our hardworking Governor, His Excellency Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. On this note, I thank CFM for being a worthy partner of our dear state,” said the Commissioner.
Mrs Bola Adeniji, the General Manager/Head of Marketing, CFM, highlighted the importance of the CFA initiative. She explained that the contribution of women to the growth of developing nations is receiving growing attention and that research has shown that a 1% increase in women’s contribution to an economy often raises the level of GDP by 58.4%.
On behalf of the beneficiaries of the initiative, Ms Samuel Oluwaseun Oluwatosin, also a participant in the training scheme, appreciated the efforts of the agribusiness. She said the training they received would economically uplift them and their families and reinvigorate a desire to contribute to the nation’s economy positively.
A three-day accelerated bakers’ training was organised in Lagos to kick-start the project. The training was facilitated by an International Cake Exploration Société (ICES) expert, amongst others. So far, CFM has trained over 120 ICES women mostly selected from the lower rung of the socioeconomic spectrum.
The Lagos State Government has said its continued partnership with Non-Governmental Organisations will promote the empowerment and safety of vulnerable women in the state.
The state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Bolaji Dada, disclosed this, according to a statement on Monday, during a forum held in Agege, Punch reported.
She said, “The objective of this interactive session is to rub minds on issues concerning the progress and development of NGOs registered with WAPA, who have a common goal of easing the plights of vulnerable women across the state through initiatives which promote economic self-reliance, equal access to the labour market and social security systems, among others.
“Since the inception of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration, he has embarked on different initiatives to ensure financial independence and the welfare of Lagosians through the THEMES agenda to achieve the vision of a greater and smarter Lagos.”
In her contribution, the Commander of the Special Female Squad, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Lagos State Command, Ada Agada, urged NGOs to encourage their members to speak up against all forms of bullying, rape, harassment, and gender-based violence so that perpetrators can feel the full weight of the law to serve as a deterrence to intending culprits.
