Rebecca Ejifoma
With a mission to change the narratives of people across the world, a not-for-profit organisation, Acumen, has impacted over 380 million lives through investment programmes.
This was stated at the Acumen West Africa Fellows Gathering with the theme: ‘Harnessing The Power of Us’, held in Lagos State.
The President of Acumen, Carlyle Singer, said the organisation has positively affected lives through investment programmes in building capacity that would solve poverty in the West African region.
With fellows from Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone participating, she noted that they are investing in social enterprises because they are innovative companies that have built models capable of providing service and impacting lives.
On her part, the Programme Manager, Acumen West Africa Fellowship, Oghenekome Oruade, acknowledged that the academy exists to tackle poverty.
The focus of the academy, she emphasised, is to equip participants by raising their self-awareness and leadership capacity to make a change.
“Our focus is to support the entrepreneurs and leaders doing the hard work of creating change.
“We often never get to hear the stories of those demonstrating new leadership examples through their work. So, through the Acumen Fellows programme, we provide leaders and entrepreneurs with the tools, resources, and more importantly, the community needed to sustain them in the work.”
A fellow of Acumen and Chief Executive Officer of PadUp Creations, Olivia Onyemaobi, said she has empowered about 17,000 women that distribute the products in micro points.
Onyemaobi conceded that being a part of the Acumen family has given her an edge because as a global movement, she gets all the needed connections to make things work.
“If I need someone to listen to me, who will understand me, Acumen is there. In terms of funding, they connect you to access to funding and most importantly when there are opportunities. They also link you with other fellows,” says the CEO.
For the Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University, Peter Bamkole, you must have a vision that scares you. “One thing engineering did to me was logical thinking, which has helped me a lot.”
With 36 years of experience in the public and private sector, Bamkole implored fellows on the most significant currency – trust. “Don’t abuse it. You have to maintain that currency to the end, that is when the community works.”
Acumen has about 90 fellows across communities in West Africa and works across 15 different sectors. The academy continues to empower fellows with problem-solving skills to address challenges for poverty eradication.
