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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Nigeria: Women's Enterprise Accelerator Focuses on Sustainable Skills Over Short-Term Aid

From ThisDay · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Sustainable economic transformation requires equipping women with practical business skills rather than short-term interventions, according to Emeka Ezekwe.
  • The PHCCIMA/WCCIMA Women Economic Empowerment Programme provides structured support, mentorship, and accountability for women entrepreneurs.
  • The initiative aims for significant business survival and expansion rates, recognizing women's enterprises as key drivers of economic growth.

Sustainable economic transformation hinges on empowering women with tangible business capabilities, moving beyond superficial, short-term initiatives. Emeka Ezekwe, Group CEO of an oil and gas facility maintenance service company and Chairman of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce Professional Services and Consultancy Trade Group, stressed this point while coordinating the first Business Development Workshop for the PHCCIMA/WCCIMA Women Economic Empowerment Programme.

sustainable economic transformation begins with equipping women with practical business capabilities rather than dispensing short-term interventions.

— Emeka EzekweExplaining the core philosophy behind the Women Economic Empowerment Programme.

Ezekwe described the program as a meticulously designed, measurable economic activation model that departs from conventional empowerment approaches. It uniquely combines "compassion with structure and empowerment with metrics," equipping women entrepreneurs with essential practical tools, dedicated mentorship, and robust accountability systems necessary for building resilient businesses. He highlighted the profound impact of consistent female earnings, stating, "A woman who earns consistently stabilizes a family. When 60 women earn consistently, communities are transformed."

compassion with structure and empowerment with metrics

— Emeka EzekweDescribing the unique approach of the accelerator program.

The accelerator program incorporates sophisticated business tracking mechanisms, comprehensive mentoring frameworks, rigorous performance evaluations, and clearly defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The targets are ambitious: achieving at least a 70 percent business survival and expansion rate among beneficiaries, coupled with a projected 40 percent increase in income. Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, President of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), officially opened the workshop, reaffirming the Chamber's dedication to advancing women-owned enterprises as vital engines for economic growth and community development. She emphasized that empowering women through enterprise development is central to PHCCIMA's mission of fostering inclusive and sustainable prosperity.

A woman who earns consistently stabilises a family. When 60 women earn consistently, communities are transformed.

— Emeka EzekweHighlighting the community-level impact of women's economic independence.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ThisDay in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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