Ascend Studios Foundation, founded by Inya Lawal, an alumna of the Fortune-U.S. Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership program, in partnership with the U.S. Consulate have continued to support the training of over 400 women entrepreneurs since 2019 through the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) programme to date with plans for future cohorts.
This was part of the goals of the AWE programme to support the comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration of returned migrants, where 50 returned migrants from Libya, Italy, Lebanon, and Saudi with an entry-level educational background and business skills were also selected to participate in the 4 months intensive training sessions which were facilitated by industry experts and mentors.
During the programme, the participants were also privileged to learn through to DreamBuilder, a blended business training course developed through a partnership between Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and global copper mining company Freeport-McMoRan. There are 13 courses, and they are all core business courses. The platform teaches everything related to business from finance to management, to marketing.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Mary Beth Leonard, U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, expressed her pride in the women’s dedication and hard work to strive to be outstanding in their businesses. She further revealed that the 2022 call for applications is in the works and encourages the graduates to spread the word and potentially become mentors for the cohorts to come.
Inya Lawal, President of Ascend Studios Foundation, in her comments to wrap up the in-person programme and graduation, said women entrepreneurs rank low in financial management despite their hard work and resilience. She also noted that some of the growth opportunities that the participants had discovered during the programme, would still require adequate funding while calling for more financial training for women entrepreneurs, especially in financial management.
“I think it is very important to train women in that aspect. It is not all about giving them money; it is about teaching them how to sustain the money they have been given as well. The two have to go side by side,” she averred and added that the Lagos State Empowerment Trust Fund is supporting Lagos Based participants with funding.
Inya Lawal further expressed her utmost joy to the US Consulate for their partnership, as well as all speakers, facilitators, and mentors – Joke Silva, Yemisi Ransome Kuti, Bada Akintunde-Johnson, Emmanuel Tarfa, Naomi Osemedua, Sola Owonikoko, Yetty Ogunnubi, Adebisi Odeleye, and all others who made the journey to celebrate with the women.
However, a major highlight at the event saw participants get support from Yamaha during the AWE pitch competition where they shared their business projections and pitches. Consequently, the winner, Pamela Odan of Krylbry Spices was awarded 2 dispatch bikes, 2 dispatch boxes, and 2 helmets while Adaora Akojuru of Bera Tomato who was the first runner up went home with 1 dispatch bike, 1 dispatch box, 1 helmet, cycle oil, servicing contact for 6 months and Esther Abumchukwu Mgbemeje, the second runner up also received 1 dispatch bike, 1 dispatch box, and 1 helmet.
In the meantime, participants who graduated from the AWE programme become a part of the U.S. government exchange alumni community, providing access to a vast network of like-minded and highly regarded professionals across the world.
