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By Chukwuma Umeorah
Access Bank has launched the eighth season of its Womenpreneur Pitch-a-Ton programme, with 120 women set to undergo a three-week mini-MBA training beginning in November 2026.
The programme, implemented in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is designed to equip women business owners with skills in business management, access to finance, networking and mentorship.
Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the commencement of the programme, Head of Women Banking, Access Bank, Nene Kunle-Ogunlusi, said the initiative had trained more than 1,141 women across 10 African countries over the past seven seasons and disbursed grants exceeding $200,000.
She said the programme was focused on helping women build businesses capable of creating jobs and supporting other businesses. “The goal is to create jobs. Once a woman is enabled, she begins to enable others. That is sustainability and that is impact,” she said.
The latest edition will provide the 120 participants with a mini-MBA certification and prepare them for access to funding by strengthening their business structures and investment readiness.
Group Head, Consumer Banking, Access Bank, Chizobar Iheme, said the programme was also aimed at addressing some of the weaknesses that cause businesses to fail within their early years. “Financial inclusion is not just about bringing women into the system. It is about equipping them with the skills they need at every stage,” Iheme said.
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She added, “many businesses fail within five years because the right structures are not in place. We are here to hold women through that journey.”
Iheme said Access Bank was focusing on capacity building alongside financing because some businesses seeking loans lacked the structures required to qualify for or effectively use such funding.
“We do not want a situation where a woman applies for a loan and does not qualify because key things are missing. This program gets them ready.”
According to her, participants would receive training and mentorship to help them build businesses that can survive beyond the first five years and scale. “By the time these women complete the program, they are different. They speak differently, they are better coordinated, and they can drive scalable businesses,” she said.
Acting Group Head, Group Marketing and Retail Analytics, Access Bank, Oge Kasie-Nwachukwu, said the current edition would also provide grants to selected beneficiaries. “With this increase, our expectation is that the businesses will perform better. In addition to the top grant, there are 19 other beneficiaries who will also receive grants,” she said. She added that previous participants had won the Nigeria MSME Awards for two consecutive years, while one graduate won $100,000 in a separate competition.
The Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton programme was introduced in 2019 under Access Bank’s W Initiative. Its initial edition trained 50 Nigerian women business owners through a free mini-MBA programme and provided financial awards totalling N9 million to the top five candidates. The programme has since expanded beyond Nigeria, with participants drawn from 10 African countries.
