Access Corporation Plc has increased the grant available under its Womenpreneur Programme to N7 million as it begins the eighth edition of the initiative aimed at strengthening women-owned businesses and promoting financial inclusion.

Speaking at the Access Bank Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton Season 8 Media Roundtable in Lagos yesterday, Head, Women Banking, Access Bank, Nene Kunle-Ogunlusi, said the latest edition would build on the achievements of the previous seven editions.

She disclosed that the programme had trained more than 1,141 women across 10 African countries and provided grants worth more than $200,000 to participants.

According to her, the initiative was designed to support women beyond access to finance by equipping them with the skills, knowledge, mentorship and market access required to build sustainable businesses.

“We are trying to go beyond just financing. When you hear that banks are supporting women, you think it is only financing, but there are a lot of capacity-building initiatives that go in,” she said.

Kunle-Ogunlusi said the increase in the major grant to N7 million would give beneficiaries greater capacity to expand their businesses, while 19 other beneficiaries would also receive grants under the programme.

She said the Womenpreneur Programme was established to address some of the factors responsible for the failure of small businesses, particularly inadequate business knowledge, capacity building, networking and mentorship.

Also speaking, Group Head, Consumer Banking, Access Bank, Chizoba Iheme, said research conducted before the programme was launched showed that many businesses failed to survive beyond five years.

She said the findings prompted the bank to focus on helping women build structures that would make their businesses more resilient and scalable.

Iheme said the programme had produced entrepreneurs who subsequently expanded their businesses locally and internationally, trained other women in their communities and won national awards.

She disclosed that one beneficiary won a $100,000 prize, while two graduates of the programme won the Nigerian MSME Awards in consecutive editions.

For the eighth edition, she said applicants must be female business owners aged between 18 and 55, with at least 50 per cent ownership of their businesses.

She added that applicants’ businesses must have been operating for at least one year and that participants must have an Access Bank account.

Programme Manager, Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton, Ifeoluwa Oyeyipo, said the programme would focus on businesses with the potential to scale.

She said the objective was to ensure that the grants translated into measurable improvements in the businesses of beneficiaries.

Oyeyipo also disclosed that the bank’s women-focused programmes operate across its African markets, with individual countries allowed to structure and launch their programmes according to local realities and
language needs.

As the eighth edition gets underway, she said the bank expected beneficiaries to emerge with stronger business structures, improved knowledge and greater capacity to scale their enterprises.

She urged eligible women entrepreneurs to participate in the programme, saying the ultimate goal was to help them build businesses capable of surviving, expanding and creating opportunities for others.

Acting Group Head, Group Marketing and Retail Analytics, Access Bank, Oge Kasie-Nwachukwu, said the training programme, to be delivered in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), was scheduled to run for three weeks beginning in November.

She said the partnership with IFC would provide beneficiaries with a mini-MBA programme designed to strengthen their business and management capabilities.