I am delighted to support Maureen Ada-Leonard, founder of EtiNard Consulting Nigeria Ltd, and her initiative Women Impact Network (WIN), a gender-focused professional career group for women, designed out of a desire for women development, mentoring and empowerment. Thank you, Maureen, for being a TEF Mentor from 2015-2018, mentoring so many African entrepreneurs!
WIN’s aim is to develop The Total Woman, one who has what they tag the C-P-G factor – Confident, Poised and Globally oriented. This is achieved through carefully selected engagement sessions with leading and well accomplished women in business and various careers who are poised and willing to inspire and motivate other aspiring women through their teachings and life experiences.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, WIN was enthusiastic towards supporting their members chart a new course of life and achieve new ways of thinking and doing business. WIN organised different programmes and engagements that reflected the happenings of the year and that resonated deeply with how to pivot and win amidst the pandemic. Many women who attended gave feedback and expressed a desire for more sessions, which allowed WIN to assess its impact.
A major outcome from the programmes organised in 2020 was the need for women to embrace change, digitization, and innovation. These conversations are strategic and germane for professional women and women in business because the new normal is a world of digital opportunities – preparedness for this is key and necessary. With evidence-based reports on the critical shortage of women in digital spaces, WIN plans to consolidate their efforts with a number of engagements in 2021.
Women Impact Network plans to help women embrace digital skills and innovative tools as key drivers of businesses. There is critical shortage of women in the digital space globally – and the statistics are even worse in Africa. WIN believes an intentional strategy for engaging, learning, and mentoring women will address this gap and impact digital literacy skills in Nigeria significantly.
In addition, WIN will implement effective micro-insurance schemes to serve as a bridge to effective financial inclusion and wealth protection strategies. WIN believes that the apathy for insurance in Nigeria is based on a trust deficit in the sector, resulting in low insurance penetration and appreciation, as well as poor wealth protection. Creating effective micro-insurance will also require it to be digitally driven and targeted at attracting the micro-sectors of the economy. The micro, small and medium scale enterprises is where the number is and where potential for growth and the vulnerable in the society lie.
WIN has selected these programmes carefully to bridge identified gaps and enlighten women on the new vista of opportunities they can embrace during the year.
Women Impact Network was founded in 2020 by Maureen Ada-Leonard, who is also the Managing Partner/Chief Executive Officer of EtiNard Consulting Nigeria, Ltd. Maureen has well over 19 years of corporate experience in Strategic Planning, Customer Services, Marketing and Business Development, and is passionately involved in empowerment and capacity development programmes for women in Nigeria and Africa at large.
Maureen is an international speaker, and is passionate about writing on topical issues and her work can be read on her blog here.
WIN will be happy to work with strategic partners, sponsors, players, and resource persons in the digital and technology space in actualizing their planned events for 2021. These events are themed: The Role of Women in a Digitized Economy, and Bridging the Financial Inclusion Gap and Upscaling Micro Insurance in Africa.
Fintech is considered the inevitable consequence of the new normal, and so upscaling and expanding the activities and reach of WIN activities through collaborative effort will be appreciated. Additionally, the potential to achieve more and create sustainable impact for women in digital spaces can be best achieved with coordinated efforts among various stakeholders.
Women Impact Network will be willing to have these coordinated efforts with other organizations and initiatives in Africa who are giving critical attention to, and providing clear communication on these challenges.
This Women’s History Month, I invite you to share this article and help promote and collaborate with Women Impact Network (WIN) for women across Africa.
About Parminder Vir OBE
Parminder Vir OBE has dedicated herself to positively impacting and transforming lives through a professional career spanning 40 years in philanthropy, entrepreneurship, film and television production, arts and culture, and investment funding. She is the co-founder of the Support4AfricaSMEs campaign and The African Farmers Stories, launched in 2020. She served as the CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, based in Lagos, Nigeria from April 2014 to April 2019. Prior to joining the Foundation, Parminder has enjoyed a distinguished career as an awarding winning film and television producer and private equity investor in film and media.
