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By Funsho Arogundade
With a mission to empower young people and women through enterprise solutions, education, advocacy, and community outreach, seasoned business and finance executive, Mary Ojulari has officially launched her foundation, the Mary Ojulari Foundation. Guided by the vision to create sustainable change and foster systemic transformation, the foundation is set to impact lives across Nigeria and beyond. With over 25 years of experience, including 12 years in the diaspora, Ojulari, through the foundation, reflects her unwavering commitment to addressing socio-economic challenges through innovative and sustainable solutions.
At the heart of the foundation’s work is the Vanguard Fellowship, its flagship programme. This initiative aims to identify and nurture exceptional and young female entrepreneurs who tackle local challenges with creativity and sustainability. Fellows will participate in a rigorous selection process and a two-week Ignite Bootcamp and benefit from tailored mentoring and access to a growth ecosystem. Successful participants will receive up to $5,000 seed grants to scale their ventures.
The foundation will launch the Fellowship with a pilot cohort in the first half of 2025. From an initial shortlist of 40 applicants who will undergo intensive entrepreneurial training, 20 fellows will be selected to receive $5,000 in seed funding, access to co-working space, and ongoing mentorship to bring their ventures to life. These efforts aim to not only empower individual entrepreneurs but also drive economic growth and job creation in underserved communities.
