Business
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IN celebration of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, November 18, Mastercard confirmed its ongoing support of the long standing partnership with Youth for Technology Foundation, YTF, to continue efforts to improve financial literacy, technology and skills-enhancement training for women in Nigeria.
Women’s Entrepreneurship Day is part of the annual Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrated between November 14 and 20. The day serves as a reminder that women play a vital role in economic growth. Financial literacy training and mentorship is crucial to supporting to develop and grow these women-owned businesses.
According to the organisers, partnerships, such as the one between Mastercard and YTF, are vital to supporting the public sector’s goals of empowering more women and sparking a culture of entrepreneurship, especially in Nigeria. The programme helps harness the spirit of resilience in women once they are empowered in their various communities, sharing the knowledge they have gained by attending the YTF training sessions.
“Our focus is on providing training that leverages existing accessible technology and imparting how best to market products and services,” Njideka Harry, president and CEO of YTF, said. “We are able to help these women entrepreneurs leapfrog recessionary challenges and achieve the potential for exponential growth within their chosen fields.”
To date, the partnership has impacted over 11,000 Nigerian women entrepreneurs across 14 states by improving the financial literacy of these women, often the breadwinners, and equipping them with essential business management and capacity building skills through the support of mobile technology. The partnership also gives them access to a network of empowered women.
One of the beneficiaries of the collaboration is Eucharia, owner of Tokaf Investments. The 36- year-old, mother of four, has grown her business by 60 percent by applying the principals learnt at the YTF sessions. Eucharia now uses her mobile device to connect with customers, sharing product information and specials, and updates them on current trends in the building industry. The YTF programme also helped her to reassess and refocus her approach, moving out of the expensive warehouse space she previously rented.
Nneka, the owner of Ebony Ventures, a wholesale cooking and kitchen supply business, learnt how ecommerce could solve many of her challenges. Nneka is now confidently growing her business beyond Nigeria and has implemented a new pricing model to ensure the continued growth of her enterprise. She is also is learning how to take advantage of online market places like Konga and Jumia to market and sell her products to a global market.
Both Nneka and Eucharia are success stories, and there are many more in Nigeria. It reinforces the importance of the training which is ensuring the sustainability of the female entrepreneurship ecosystem, a priority for both Mastercard and YTF. Moving into 2017, the partnership aims to include further training for 150 apprentices.
The apprentices are the talented young women that existing women business owners are employing, many of whom have been part of the YTF program. These young ladies will be trained and groomed to become the next generation of business owners, starting a ripple effect that will impact generations of women in Nigeria.
“At Mastercard, we believe economically empowered women are major catalysts for development,” Omokehinde Adebanjo, vice-president and area business head, West Africa, Mastercard, said, adding: “Through our partnership with the YTF, we are providing women in Nigeria with the tools for economic empowerment to break down poverty cycles and create opportunities for long-term wealth. We are seeing that by harnessing the power of technology, we are transforming the lives of women entrepreneurs in the country.”
— Nov 30, 2016 @ 17:35 GMT
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