One hundred and one female entrepreneurs have made it to the final stage of the Y’ellopreneur initiative and will each receive equipment loans of up to N2 million at a fixed interest rate of 2.5% and 36-months repayment duration from the MTN Foundation. 

The loans, which will be disbursed by the Bank of Industry, are expected to help the women scale their businesses thus contributing to reduction in female unemployment.

SMEs in less wealthy economies are mostly faced with sociocultural barriers and infrastructural deficit. They also lack poor access to finances and continuous education, and government support. Nevertheless, a 2022 report by Mastercard, shows that women in less wealthy economies are making their mark as vital economic contributors with over 25% significant business ownership of all local businesses, despite prevailing socio-economic constraints. The Y’ellopreneur initiative was established to contribute to tackling these problems in Nigeria, through capacity building, advisory and business support services.

Speaking about the equipment loan, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya stated that the equipment loan is to facilitate the expansion of more sustainable women-led businesses. “Women-led businesses are powerful sources of job creation and economic growth. According to a report by PwC Nigeria, women account for 41% of business ownership and 3.4% of female employment within micro-enterprises, but they continue to face challenges in accessing finance. Through the Y’ellopreneur initiative, MTN Foundation and Bank of Industry are helping female entrepreneurs in Nigeria. By working together, we can build a fairer, more prosperous future,” said Odunayo Sanya, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation.

 “This time, the MTN Foundation is concentrating on female entrepreneurs. Five hundred out of the nearly 42,000 applicants for the Y’ellopreneur programme were trained, and following careful assessment of their respective pitches, 101 women have qualified to receive the equipment grant and loan,” she added. 

The Y’ellopreneur initiative in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) is part of the MTN Foundation’s strategic efforts to support the government in attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) 1,2, 5, 8 and 17 which seeks to eliminate poverty and hunger, achieve gender equality by empowering all women, and promote inclusive economic growth.

Leading insurance companies, Heirs Insurance Limited (HIL) and Heirs Life Assurance (HLA) in partnership with Africa No Filter (ANF), have announced seventeen (17) young creatives across Africa as the recipients of the USD30,000 Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund, a CSR initiative of both insurance companies.

The 17 finalists, selected from 3,600 entries, will receive $30,000 in grants (between $500 to 2,000 each) to develop projects that shine a light on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa and challenge the negative stereotype of Africa.

The finalists represent 12 African countries, with 60% female and 40% male representation. Working with ANF, they will begin work on their submitted projects ranging from film to visual arts, journalism, and digital content creation. Named after African business leader and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, and sponsored by Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life, the $30,000 creative fund is an extension of Elumelu’s commitment to redefining an African success story that is powered by Africa’s youth and their creative ideas. The Fund is a standalone initiative, not affiliated with the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Speaking on behalf of both companies, Chief Marketing Officer, Ifesinachi Okpagu, congratulated the finalists, reiterating the confidence in the project’s mission to place Africa firmly on the map.

She said, “We commend the finalists of the Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund on their ideas and commitment to this joint mission. We are confident that this CSR initiative will progressively change the often-negative stereotype about Africa.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has reiterated the Commission’s commitment to continually drive initiatives that accelerate broadband deployment to increase penetration and make internet connection readily available to telecom consumers.

The EVC stated this at the 10th edition of Business 360 Clinics organised by Abuja Enterprises Agency (AEA) in Abuja. 

Speaking on the theme of the event, “Technology Utilization and Innovation: Effects on SME Profitability and Productivity” in the context of the regulatory activities of the Commission, the EVC, who was represented by Assistant Director, Digital Economy, NCC Paul Okeke, noted that NCC has been at the heart of providing the digital drive for transforming businesses and sustaining socio-economic activities in Nigeria.

During the panel session titled “Technology Adoption: A must for MSMEs Sustainability and Competitiveness (Challenges and Ease of Use),” Okeke highlighted the Commission’s commitment towards technological and digital transformation in a manner that makes entrepreneurship seamless.

While addressing the issue of challenges on digital literacy, Okeke informed the audience that the Commission has strategic partnerships with various organizations including Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) which birthed initiatives such as Digital Economy Academy where business owners learn about security risks and online threats in a 12-course programme for 3 months.

Okeke charged entrepreneurs to leverage technology to harness the benefits of these initiatives to sustain their businesses.

“As a regulator of Telecommunication, the Commission is in active collaboration with other agencies in the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy,  as well as with other public sector institutions such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to ensure that policies become effective in curtailing cyber-attacks and threats on businesses,” Okeke stated.

The participants and business owners also seized the opportunity of the platform to make complaints and resolve their business-related challenges while adopting technology for their various businesses during the interactive session. Representatives of relevant agencies at the event also seized the opportunity to attend to enquiries from participants who are running businesses and those who are aspiring entrepreneurs.