Mrs Ekeh addressing wives of junior employees drawn from TD Africa and other companies in the Zinox Group |
Disclosing the laudable initiative on Thursday, January 20,
2022 was Chief Executive, TD Africa, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh.
The first group of beneficiaries of the women empowerment
initiative were the wives of junior employees drawn from TD Africa and other
companies in the Zinox Group.
To flag off the project, the women had earlier toured the
office facilities in Gbagada followed by another elaborate tour of the
state-of-the-art Tech Experience Centre located in Yudala Heights, Victoria
Island, Lagos.
Mrs. Ekeh, while receiving the first set of beneficiaries at
Yudala Heights, charged them to channel their minds with positive thoughts and
be courageous to take firm actions, regardless of the circumstances. She used
the peculiar traits of the TD Africa brand symbol – depicted by a lion head
known as Simba, as staff of the company are addressed – as an analogy to
buttress her point.
“Women must remain strong, courageous and tenacious, just
like the Simba. As the bedrock of the society, they should never allow their
past experiences, no matter how bad, dictate their future. They must take
learnings from the experiences and rise above their challenges.’’
Further, Mrs. Ekeh urged the women to steer clear of
unnecessary distractions and unhealthy competition with no one.
“Continually work on improving yourself, all the time. That
is enough. The results will show in good time too….
‘‘…It is also important to have the “I can do” mindset. It is
only in the DOING that the deeds get done. So, get up and go. Go do it. As
important as money is, empowerment is not all about that. Sharing ideas,
sharing authentic stories, training, mentoring are some other more enduring
ways to empower,’’ she counselled.
Speaking on the objectives and vision of the project, Mrs.
Ekeh stated it will positively affect millions of women in the coming years,
while urging them to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that abound
from the initiative.
Research estimates from premier data platform Knoema
indicate that in 2021, the female population for Nigeria stood at about 104
million.
Over the last 50 years, the female population in Nigeria
grew substantially from 29.3 million to 104 million persons, rising at an increasing
annual rate that reached a maximum of 2.98% in 1978 and then decreased to 2.54%
in 2021. Women, by virtue of their nature, also play essential care-giving and
grooming roles in the society.
Mrs. Ekeh is of the view that the foregoing makes a conscious
effort to engage this gender of utmost and critical importance.
Mrs. Chioma Ekeh, chief executive, TD Africa |
The participants on tour of Tech Experience Centre |
Staff |
‘‘Empowering a woman means empowering the family, the community, the society and the entire country. That one woman will teach many people; from siblings, to offsprings, to in-laws and to all she encounters. Why waste this rich resource we can put to good use?” she queried.
‘‘We hope to impact at least 10 million women in the space
of two to three years and these empowered women will empower a whole lot more
in the world. It is not all about money,” she concluded.
As part of the session, the management team of TD Africa
comprising the Coordinating Managing Director, Mrs. Chioma Chimere; Managing
Director, Sales, Mrs. Gozy Ijogun; Head of Tech Experience Centre, Chidalu
Ekeh; Mrs. Kelechi Nwamara and Mrs. Foluke Morakinyo of the Human Resource unit
had a one-on-one conversation with each of the beneficiaries to understand
their means of livelihood and identify the challenges. The exercise was for
proper documentation and to proffer customised solutions.
Reactions from participants showed their excitement from the
exposure and optimism for a better future. The women, who are mostly petty
traders, couldn’t hide their expectations with respect to gaining access to
mentorship and other forms of support for their businesses.
A shoe seller, Mrs. Macbeth Stella said the experience was very
inspiring and highly motivating.
“I’m very happy to be here. I feel encouraged and hopeful
that coming here will boost my spirit to do my business better and be very
supportive to my husband. I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” she enthused.
Another respondent expressed delight at the possibility of
securing access to seed funds or soft loans to aid her business.
“My name is Chika Lilian Gabriel. I was able to learn so
many things and also network with like minds. This is my first time to visit the
place my husband works and it’s a good experience.
‘‘I am excited about the prospects of being able to access
financial support to grow my business and I want to get higher just like the
Yudala Heights,” she said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment