Nume Ekeghe and Chiamaka Ozulumba
Ecobank Nigeria has gone into partnership with a media entrepreneur and blogger, Linda Ikeji to host ‘Self-Made Woman 2021’. The event is geared towards mentoring and providing financial empowerment and liberation to young aspiring female entrepreneurs, thereby building stronger economies and improving the quality of life for such women.
Speaking on the collaboration, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan said: “When Linda Ikeji approached us for partnership, we obliged her without hesitation because the initiative aligns with our empowerment policy for women. We recognise women as the bedrock of most families and entrepreneurship in the society.”
He reiterated that, Ecobank remains a women-friendly bank with many initiatives and innovative products targeted at empowering and sustaining female entrepreneurs in Nigeria such as ‘Ellevate’ and ‘Ecobank Female Entrepreneurs Initiative (EFEI)’, which is designed to empower and support female owned small-scale businesses.
Under the initiative, prospective female entrepreneurs have access to a special loan package, where they can easily access credit facility with interest rates as low as 1 percent.
Speaking to THISDAY, Ikeji said: “My purpose for doing this is to hopefully encourage more women believe in themselves, encourage more women fight for their dreams and for women to know that there is absolutely nothing that they can’t achieve.
“I want them to hear stories of women who have achieved great feats, women who have broken tables and know that it’s possible for them to also scatter these barriers and for them to know that making money is not the sole right of men, women can also make money.”
She added that this series is targeted at giving women the platform to come together, have conversations, believe in themselves, and see people like myself and Tara Fela-Durotoye and other women who have done amazingly well.
She added: “And to say if this woman can do this, of course i can too, I can break tables, I can become a CEO of a conglomerate, I can own a company that can go to the Stock Exchange.
“When I thought of doing Self-Made, Ecobank was the first bank, I thought about going to because I love how much they are into women empowerment. They have a lot of programs, platforms internally to help women in business achieve their goals and dreams, and so I felt like what I was doing tallies with what they are already doing.”
