In order to support female entrepreneurs and women-led businesses, the MTN Foundation in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) has officially launched the first phase of the Y’ellopreneur programme. The initiative is targeted at advancing the entrepreneurial development of 500 women through capacity building, advisory and business support services. According to the Director, MTN Foundation, Dr Mosun Belo-Olusoga, the Y’ellopreneur programme will also tackle the issue of female unemployment.
The initiative will focus on entrepreneurs with bankable businesses who will be supported with an equipment loan of up to N2 million at a fixed interest rate of 2.5% and 36 months repayment duration. Speaking on the selection of the Y’ellopreneur participants, Executive Secretary of MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya said, “We were particular about the types of business that we wanted to fund. For us, it was about the real economy, and today we are training women across a range of businesses including; manufacturing, processing, ICT, agriculture, waste management and recycling.
The Y’ellopreneur initiative is part of MTN Foundation’s strategic effort to curb female unemployment in Nigeria, and also to help transform small enterprises owned by Nigerian women. It began with a call for entries on June 23, 2022, and over 42,300 women applied for the initiative of which 500 were selected to be the first set of Y’ellopreneurs.
