Female Entrepreneurs Gather in Lagos For The Business Women Hub Conference 2022

The first lady of Lagos state, Her Excellency Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu has said that the just concluded women’s day celebration should not be a time to celebrate women only , but also a time to reflect on the status of women and bring to the fore the areas in which the rights and interests of women are still being regulated and neglected.

She stated that despite the appreciable progress that has been made in closing the gender gap, there is still a long way to go.

The first lady who was ably represented by Mrs. Oyindamola Ogunsanwo, member of the committee of wives of Lagos state officials who spoke at the 2022 Business Women Hub conference organized by Business Women Hub ; thanked and commended the organizers (the Business Women Hub) for creating an innovative platform targeted at helping female entrepreneurs, especially those in their first five years of business in Africa. She expressed delight in being identified with the community in the 2022 edition of the conference which was themed “Ready or Not: A new generation of business leaders”. The first lady also encouraged women, especially those in business, to take the step today and break the bias. She said that female entrepreneurs needed to be ready themselves to take their rightful place and emerge as new generation business leaders, as women are naturally resilient. However, the first lady noted that it was important to stress that being ready also required adequate preparation and consistency in doing what is right and being positioned for apt connections.

The conference featured a welcome address by the founder of Business Women Hub and Managing Partner Thinkmint Nigeria, Mrs. Imelda Usoro-Olaoye. In her speech, Mrs. Olaoye gave a brief summary of the Business Women Hub and also appreciated key organizations and individuals who took time out to help train the women in the community in areas such as digital marketing , financial book-keeping as well as partner organizations that ensured businesses of members of the community were registered. She shared the goals of the organization and the services it currently offers to women in business, especially to those in their first five years of business in Africa.
In her speech , she stated that The Business Women Hub is a community positioned for the growth of female-owned businesses, with a special focus on those businesses that are still within their first five years of existence. Registered members of the community span over 1,000 women and spread into other African countries, as well as businesses owned by female Nigerians living in the diaspora. “We keep building, day by day, a network of highly skilled female entrepreneurs by providing them with valuable information, access to markets, finance, and new opportunities.”

Mrs Olaoye noted that since 2021 to date, despite the post-COVID-19 pandemic and the prevailing economic climate, it has been a year of growth for many members. The sheer amount of capacity building that members had received, if implemented, will scale up their businesses. The founder mentioned that many small businesses failed because their owners mistake their passion for a field and the desire to run a business in that field and that successful business owners know that the business of marketing, costing, financing, hiring, firing, training, planning, negotiating, purchasing, balancing the books, record-keeping, maintaining the physical plant, resolving employee tiffs, and much more, must receive primary attention if their passion is to have a safe haven. In her final statement, she mentioned that the community Business Women Hub provided these and more, with a mantra to all potential, new, old, and founding members that states, “Love your passion but know your business”, while we catch you young. She thanked partners and sponsors who contributed to raising the level of some businesses within the community to a higher level.

A member of the BWH Patron Mrs Ini-obong Umoren- Onunkwo , MD Little Weavers Africa gave a deep insight into the activities of the community since inception. Mrs Onunkwo stated that the community which was born in May 2020 had since over time provided its members with an opportunity to own free online stores via the www.businesswomenhub.com.ng portal, access to general business workshops, daily training on sales, marketing, business positioning, and structuring, as well as access to funding via the BWH Esusu which has successfully funded ten businesses from its internal communal purse for over 18 months.

Speakers at the event were Mrs Meflyn Anwana , Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Akwa-Ibom state on Entrepreneurial Development, Dr. Mrs. Modupe Olorunnimbe, a consultant ophthalmologist and the medical director of VisionAIDs Eye Clinic, Mrs. Tosin Ajose, Lead advisor and Founding partner of DealHQ Partners, a successful law firm that provides business solutions, especially to start-ups, Abiola Adelana, Business Manager, Tourism, Sterling Bank Plc, Funmi Suleman, the current South-West President of the Association of Women Empowerment Program (AWEP), Omolola Phillip, a lifestyle and business coach and Head of Operations at 4point Real Estate, Temi Giwa, Product Manager at Paystack, Mr. Bamidele Ayemibo, Export Business Consultant, UkAID/Lead Consultant, 3T Impex Trade Academy, Ubong Ita, CEO of Koboaccountant, Itohan. J. Iyalla is the Head of Growth at eBanqo, Ibifuro Apiafi, Manager, Entrepreneur Selection and Growth Endeavor Nigeria.