A gender-based group, Flourish Africa, conjoins into a partnership with Google, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Eloh Consulting as part of efforts to support the entrepreneurial activities of female-owned businesses in Africa.
Speaking at a press briefing held in Lagos on Monday, the founder, Flourish Africa, Folorunso Alakija, officially unveiled the three companies as its training partners.
She said a minimum of 500 female micro-entrepreneurs would be trained annually after which 100 successful trainees would be empowered with the sum of N2m each, according to their business needs and capacities.
This, she said, would be financed from an annual fund of N200m.
She further explained that Eloh Consulting Limited would train the female entrepreneurs in 10 modules of management development over three months, while Google will train the entrepreneurs to use the “Google My Business” app to create visibility and grow their businesses.
Similarly, PWC will train the women in the tax regulations and requirements for doing business in Nigeria, so that their businesses can be tax compliant.
“I launched the Flourish Africa N1bn Fund last year during my 70th birthday as a gift to hardworking and enterprising women. This initiative will focus on empowering women economically and socially for the benefit of their immediate families and the society,” she said.
The Partner, Eloh Consulting Limited, Lilian Uwaeme, said the company was proud to partner with Flourish Africa, describing the vision to empower 500 female entrepreneurs this year as a laudable one that aligns with her company’s values of empowerment.
“We have put together a group of seasoned facilitators with vast industry experience to facilitate this programme. We are also providing female entrepreneurs with a one-year business plan advisory support. This is to ensure that at the end of the programme, they would be equipped with knowledge and skills that will enable them to run sustainable and profitable businesses”, said Uwaeme.
Also speaking, the Director, Tax Reporting & Strategy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. Kenneth Erikume, said “We believe that this initiative will empower the beneficiaries to understand the need to properly register their businesses and intellectual property, understand their role as good corporate citizens and comply with their tax obligations.”
According to him, PwC is supporting the programme as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.
The Regional Head, Brand and Reputation, Africa, Google, Ms Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, said supporting small businesses, particularly those run by women, to have access to the resources they need to expand was at the heart of Google’s work in Africa.
“We will be partnering with Flourish Africa to provide free digital skills training and Google Business Profile verification for female entrepreneurs,” she noted.
