JAN, Union Bank to train 50 girls on entrepreneurship

Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) has announced its partnership with one of the nation’s old generation financial institutions, Union Bank, to empower 50 girls from different public and private secondary schools, across the nation’s six geo-political zones. This is  part of the fifth edition of its Leadership, Empowerment, Achievement and Development(LEAD) Camp, which flagged off in Lagos, at the weekend.

The mission of the initiative, according to the organisation, is to inspire the nation’s youth feminine gender to become high-achieving women leaders, by focusing on a key social development goal that emphasizes gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

Speaking on the initiative, the Director of In-School Programs for JAN, Adaeze Oputa, explained that participants would be taken through series of activities that would be administered by  HOD Consulting Inc, with leading women from both the private and public sectors of the nation’s economy, serving as mentors.

She added that participants must have participated in JAN’s flagship Company Program, designed for different facets of setting up and running a business.

“As indicated, the LEAD Camp will consist of activities in leadership, empowerment, achievement and development for majority of participants, coming from different parts of the country’s public and private secondary schools, who, ordinarily would not have had this kind of opportunity in their lives,” she stated.

While expressing her gratitude to Union Bank and other partners for their support for the initiative, Oputa expressed the belief that the initiative would go a long way in enhancing the confidence of the nation’s female children and put them on the path of financial independence.

Expressing her delight at the program, HOD Consulting Inc & Founding Executive Director of JAN, Simi Nwogugu, explained that the LEAD Camp was introduced to further secure the leadership skills of the girl-child.

“‘I developed LEAD Camp in 2001 because, after two years of running JAN, I noticed that some of the girls, who were shy or timid at the beginning of the Company Program, were more confident by the end and needed just a little more encouragement to secure their newfound leadership skills. Now 15 years later, I am proud to support LEAD Camp again with some of our best leadership development workshops at HOD Consulting,” she stated.

Explaining the rationale behind his bank’s decision to pitch his tent with the program, the Managing Director, Union Bank, Emeka Emuwa, said since developing and grooming young talent remains a key focus for the bank, the LEAD programme therefore provides the bank that opportunity to nurture and encourage an entrepreneurial mindset in those 50 girls that would participate at this edition of the program.