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By Henry Uche
As part of its continued effort to support women and the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) in Nigeria, AXA Mansard, one front line insurer and asset management firm, has provided financial and capacity development support for over 200 female SME owners in Nigeria.
It provided the support through a capacity development conference organised by SME 100 Africa. SME 100 Africa is a social enterprise that supports young African entrepreneurs along their journey towards professional success.
Speaking during the conference, Chief Client Officer, AXA Mansard, Rashidat Adebisi, said that collaborating with SME 100 to empower SMEs was another way in the series of programmes and initiatives that AXA Mansard was using to inspire and empower women.
According to her, AXA Mansard’s commitment to SMEs was not just about the ripple effect it would have on the economy, it is also about the gap that it would bridge. “Empowering these brilliant entrepreneurs during the International Women’s Day, is our way of raising the awareness about the different socio-economic possibilities of unlocking the potential of women either in business, career or other social endeavour,” she explained.
Commenting on the theme of the year’s International Women’s Day, Rashidat furthered: “In life, we will face challenges and different biases. These biases affect everyone however, it is stronger against women. We must therefore identify these biases and collectively start making changes. To unlock the full potential of the world, we must be ready to put in the work and it starts from breaking our biases, especially against women.
Speaking on the SME business pitch competition, which happened on the side line of the conference, the Chief Customer and Marketing Officer, AXA Mansard, Jumoke Odunlami, explained that the goal of the company in investing in the competition was not just to highlight the ingenuities of female SMEs in Nigeria, but it was to give them constructive feedback on how to improve their business and help them understand the importance of Insurance.
