Eloy conference to empower women SMEs, offer N1m grant

Eloy Foundation, conveners of the biggest women’s awards in the country Eloy Awards, would be empowering women in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) at its 2019 Eloy Conference themed, Empower to Sustain her.

The conference, which is billed for November 13, 2019, will showcase panel sessions, exhibitions and N1million grant to the SME winner at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos. The Founder, Tewa Onasanya said: “What we usually do is the annual Eloy Awards to appreciate and recognise women who have worked hard and broken new grounds over the year. But this year, we felt the need to educate and empower women in SMEs through our first annual Eloy Conference, an initiative of the Eloy Awards Foundation.

“The foundation is basically to empower women to be more and do more by providing access to resources, business skills and tools for them to grow, transform and sustain their businesses. So everyone that attends the conference will have access to different panel discussions, access to masterclasses and opportunities to get into the Eloy Foundation network.”

She further explained that “women under the network will have access to information about their businesses, how to grow their businesses, access to finance, others. We are also going to be giving N1million grant to the best business pitch.”

In August Eloy asked women to send in their business pitches to win the grant in order to support women in SMEs grow their business. A number of women have sent in videos of what they do and how the grant would help their business. So the ideology is to sustain women empowerment by giving them access to the grant. The rest of the women on the empowerment programme will have access to affordable loan, trainings, mentoring, networking events, all in the aim to grow their business.

Onasanya added: “All women are worth celebrating and this is what the Eloy Awards is all about. Oftentimes, women feel they should dim their light but we are saying, ‘No, it is okay to shine.’ So this year’s Eloy Awards is billed for November 24, approximately two weeks after the Eloy Conference at Lagos Continental Hotel.”