Ecobank has explained why it is supporting Linda Ikeji’s empowerment programme ‘Selfmade Woman Conference (SMWC) 2021’.
The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, has said that the decision to support Linda Ikeji was part of the bank’s empowerment policy for women in Nigeria.
He said:
“Our decision to support Linda Ikeji conference aligns with our women empowerment policy. As a bank, we have been playing a leading role in this respect.
“Like you know, we have a long standing partnership with Tera Kulture, that is Bolanle Austen Peters who has come out with various movies such as ‘Bling Lagosians’, ‘Moremi The Musical’, ‘Fela and the Kalakuta Queens,’ ‘The Oluronbi Musical’ and others.
“Recently, we also supported ‘The Wait’, a movie inspired by the popular book from renowned lawyer and entrepreneur, Yewande Zaccheaus. We are also currently working with the Ogun state government to promote the Adire industry which is also primarily women driven.
“In the agric industry, we have supported the Anchor borrowers programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria across the six regions of the country to reach out to farmers, especially the women folk to support them financially to increase their farm size and yield capacity through the introduction of new techniques.
“Let me also add that Ecobank has a women empowerment programme “Ellevate” for women in Business; this will be publicly launched across the country in July. With Ellevate, we want to ensure we raise and recognize our women for the significant role they have always played to ensure a better society for us all.”
Selfmade Woman Conference (SMWC) 2021 is an initiative of Linda Ikeji which premiered in 2013 is a mentorship and empowerment programme for young female entrepreneurs.
This year’s conference will be held on Saturday, June 19th at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island. The speakers for this year’s edition include Tara Durotoye, renowned beauty and make-up entrepreneur; Dr. Ola Brown, Founder of the Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company; and Dr. Nancy Nnadi, Serial Entrepreneur & CEO of Telecom Distribution Company.
Other guest speakers will include Tomie Balogun, Investment Expert & Fin-tech Entrepreneur; Sola Adesakin, Finance Coach & Chartered Accountant; Kemi Adetiba, Film Maker and content creator; and TV star Dorathy Bachor.
