Afrilabs Virtual Meetup Grants Winners Showcase: DHUB Innovation Centre Virtual Meetup Project: FEMQUIP
| The Virtual Meetup Grant is part of the AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme, which is funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) through the Digital Africa Seed Fund (ACBP), and gives successful hubs in the AfriLabs network a grant of 2,000 Euros to implement virtual meetups in their communities. For this edition, we will be spotlighting dHub Innovation Centre. |
| FemQuip is a project that aims to promote financial and gender equality, and with women accounting for 45 percent of Nigeria’s workforce, there is no question that it will benefit the state’s and country’s economies. The project was designed to address inequalities and challenges that women face in business by accelerating progress toward gender equality through entrepreneurship growth, networking, and learning, as well as access to finance. During the two-month FemEquip project, selected delegates had the opportunity to learn from female business experts in North Central. The six-week preparation, which included 12 sessions, went off without a hitch. Ten mentors (two males and eight females) were recruited for the project, all of whom were key stakeholders and active business owners. The participants were split into two groups. As a result, in addition to the Physical Session meet-up, each mentor took two lessons. On April 29th, the classes came to an end. Seventy-five percent of the participants were Kwara State business owners, while twenty-five percent had business ideas and were about to launch. Only 20% of company owners had a CAC account, and only 2% had a corporate account. The Corporate Governance class stressed the importance of structure, and we can report that 18% of the participants had begun the process of completing their CAC registration following the engagement. Key AchievementsOf the 325 entrepreneurs who signed up for the project, 100 female entrepreneurs were chosen as finalists.10 virtual classes were organized.2 physical programs for mentees were organized.Certificates are given to mentees.Despite the small stipend offered, all 10 facilitators agreed to facilitate for 6 weeks online.Orientation for both mentees and mentors kicked off the program. More information about DHub Innovation Centre can be found here. Also, stay up to date on our various events, opportunities, grants, eligibility requirements, and application guidelines by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. |
