Firm supports women entrepreneurs, others with economy booster programme

As Nigerian businesses continue to grapple with the effects and hardship caused by COVID-19, which has affected the lives of many, entrepreneurs in five key areas are set to receive an economic boost aimed to speed up growth and recovery.

Launching the New Economy Booster programme over the weekend, Impact Hub Lagos says it is focusing on entrepreneurs working in five major fields, agriculture, trade, healthcare, education, and the culture/creative sectors. Founded in 2017, IHL has provided incubation, acceleration, venture building support, as well as a serene co-working space to entrepreneurs in Lagos.

Space host, Banke Adeoye told The Guardian that one of the most valuable product they offer entrepreneurs and clients are the services of seasoned and passionate professionals, most of whom are women, including incubation lead, Gloria Okorie; community lead Stephanie Dan-Okafor; administrative and project management head, Fikemi Adesola; programme design officer Anita Agbakoba; and guest manager Cynthia Johnson.

Kristin Wilson, the Hub’s innovation lead, who has operated in a variety of industries including technology, healthcare and agriculture, says the Economy Booster Programme would offer individual, tailor-made solutions to respective entrepreneurs in their different fields. “Also, as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a cornerstone of the activities carried out by the global Impact Hub network, achieving gender equality in the workplace is critical to this objective. For us, gender parity across the board is a goal to be achieved, hopefully, in the number of entrepreneurial projects we will lend tangible support to and with respect to our staffing.”

“Our team of capable women would share their knowledge with entrepreneurs seeking our services. In this country where being a woman can sometimes be a limitation, these women are taking up space in the venture building and development fields. And although women have higher rates of entrepreneurship, they are disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to accessing resources and opportunities to scale their ventures,” said Adaeze Nwadike, the Hub’s communications lead. “This is why programmes like the New Economy Booster are so important, we want to help entrepreneurs and see women-led enterprises benefit from the project. We also try to reflect this across our workshops.”

Present at the New Economy Booster launch was the founder of Flying Doctors Healthcare Investments, Ola Brown; and CEO, Wellspring Health, Chinny Ogunro who both spoke on sustainable entrepreneurship in healthcare. Yemi Keri of Rising Tide and Titi Ogufere were invited to join a panel discussing the venture support ecosystem and its adaptability to new socio-economic realities.

Following the launch, the programme is accepting applications till September 17 and more details can be found on the Impact Hub Lagos website. Open to all entrepreneurs, the women of Impact Hub say they would be happy to have more applications from women entrepreneurs.