By Yemisi Suleiman

In a bid to encourage, promote and empower businesses owned by female entrepreneurs across Nigeria, the ELOY Awards Foundation in partnership with First Bank has launched the 2022 Edition of the first ever “ELOY BUSINESS SHOWER.”

The project is also aimed at exposing female entrepreneurs to important business skills, networking, and the ELOY FOUNDATION BUSINESS TOOLKIT, which is a collection of business survival information, grants and affordable loans which is being executed through FirstBank’ FirstGem 9% Loan Scheme created for female-owned MSMEs and the SMEConnect Initiative.

The Business Shower by the ELOY Awards Foundation was held in FIVE different states; Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano and Abia states from the 23rd of June to the 7th of July, 2022. According to Tewa Onasanya, Founder of the ELOY Awards Foundation, the event held to support business owners on their journey to building a sustainable business. “We hosted over 500 hundred women across Nigeria. It was an avenue for these women to gain access to entrepreneurial trainings from experienced business men and women, who armed them with tools and information to help them grow their businesses successfully”.

Following the huge success of the event, Phase two of the event will begin this August, where ELOY Awards Foundation will enroll 50 women who are small business owners onto the three month ELOY Foundation Sustainable Empowerment Program (SEP), these small business owners will be mentored for a period of three months and they will have access to entrepreneurial trainings every month, mentorship, access to information on affordable finance and 10 of these women will be considered for a grant to assist them in their businesses.
Following on from this event, preparations had begun for the 14th ELOY Conference and Awards which will hold on the 25th of November. Registration for this for business owners and exhibitors has started. Details can be found on the eloyawards.com website.

About the ELOY Awards Foundation
The ELOY Awards Foundation aims to sustain women empowerment through access to affordable finance, entrepreneurial training, mentoring, networking opportunities and more. The foundation is about empowering and challenging thousands of women to be more and do more by providing access to resources, business skills and tools for them to be able to grow, transform and sustain their businesses, which will in turn benefit their families and the community at large.