5 EMPOWERMENT SCHEMES YOU DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED FOR FEMALE GRADUATES IN NIGERIA.

5 EMPOWERMENT SCHEMES YOU DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED FOR FEMALE GRADUATES IN NIGERIA.

In the midst of a male – dominated society, the Nigerian woman has proved to be more than just an ordinary spectator. Women have proved their strength and competence in every sphere of life and profession. Nowadays women empowerment and leadership have gained solid grounds in the ever changing scope of time. Everyday more and more women development and empowerment schemes are springing up to tackle the problems of ‘the female child’ development. And recently, the country has seen the initiation of several female empowerment schemes, most of which are aimed at empowering female graduates. In this article, we will be discussing some 6 empowerment schemes most female graduates in Nigeria didn’t know existed. The idea is to effectively expose you to the right information about ongoing empowerment schemes for females, so as to help you maximize such programs.

1. Young Founders Program for young entrepreneurs in 2018. The westerwell young Founders Program is a fully funded year- long program for 25 exceptional entrepreneurs from developing  and emerging economies. As part of the program, the westerwell foundation hosts annual conference in Berlin: the young Founders conference. Its focus is to connect young Founders from developing and emerging economies with each other and with the common startup scene. The participants of the young Founders conference will have the unique opportunity to meet and interact with successful entrepreneurs, investors, and political decision makers. They will also join a network of like-minded outstanding young Founders from developing and emerging economies.

Our offers:                                               
During the year- long programme, all fellows will get access to:
• The young Founders conference in Berlin, Germany, 10-14 April 2028
• A mentoring programme: monthly mentoring calls with an experienced entrepreneur and with the group of westerwell young Founders
• Invitations and scholarships for entreneurships conferences
• An international alumni network

Timeline for the westerwell young Founders programme:
10-14 April 2018: Young Founders conference in Berlin, Germany
April 2018- March 2019: Personal mentoring, peer monitoring( remotely)
Travel and accommodation for the young Founders conference will be covered by the westerwell foundation. All fellows are expected to actively participate in the young Founders conference as well as in the scheduled mentoring calls.

Requirements:
• have recently ( in the last 5 years) started a non – profit company with a scalable business model
• be based in a developing or emerging country or have a strong business focus on developing and emerging economies
• possesses a good working knowledge of English
Note: foreign applicants must possess valid travel documents( including a visa, if necessary) to enter Germany, and valid travel medical insurance.

Shell ideas 360 Global ideas. Shellideas360 is more than a global competition that connects students to develop ideas to tackle the pressures of world’s food, water, and energy resources. It’s an exciting journey of learning and discovery to collaborate with like-minded innovators, shell experts,and mentors to expand your horizons.

Stages
1. Register online – join the learning sessions – submit an idea.
Register and set- up your personal profile. You can enter as an individual or as part of a team of up to three people. You join learning sessions, use the online community to discuss and to shape your idea before submission.
2. Develop.
Selected ideas will have access to:
• a designated mentor
• expert development sessions – support to further develop your idea, leadership and business skills to enhance your career
Connect with your shell mentor and join the development sessions to enhance business skill.
3. Pitch.
Finalists team receive
• a trip to Make The Future, London
• intensive coaching
• opportunity to pitch ideas to senior shell executives, innovators and industry leaders.
Make your idea pitch perfect with coaching insight and support from senior shell experts and mentors. Gain VIP access to Make The Future, London.

2. Leventis foundation ( Nigeria) one- year training program.
The leventis foundation ( Nigeria) is a charitable company dedicated to the training of farmers in modern and sustainable agricultural practices and rational use of natural resources.
The foundation has been running agricultural training for youths and farmers since 1987 and currently has six schools in the different agro ecological zones in Nigeria. The schools are located in the FCT, Osun, Kaduna, Kano, and Gombe States are co- financed by Leventis foundation and the respective State Governments. All the schools offer training to young people( male and female) desirous of making a good career in farming. The comprehensive one – year training exposes the participants to several areas of Agriculture and other farm businesses.
Benefits:
• tuition and boarding ( including feeding) is provided free of charge for successful candidates throughout the duration of the course.
• the objective of the training, which is free of all costs,is to create in Nigeria, generations of young committed practical farmers who will act as catalysts for agricultural revolution in their communities
Admission is open to both male and female candidates.

Admission Requirements:
Applicants should fulfill the following conditions among others;
A. Be physically fit
B. Ability to read and write in English ( evidence of minimum of junior secondary school may be required)
C. Age between 18 and 40 years
D. Pass both written and oral test prior to final selection.
E. Should demonstrate perceivable interest in agriculture.
F. Proof of farming background is an advantage.

Method of Application
– Application in applicants own handwriting include concrete information in respect of each of the above requirements together with a letter signed by the chairman or secretary of candidate’s Local Government of origin, or an attestation letter from a justice of peace( JP), two(2) recent passport size photographs, three(3) referees, and photocopies of academic qualification(s) or relevant documents should be forwarded to any of the addresses below, preferably to the school of choice.
1. Leventis Foundation/ Osun State
Agricultural training School
Imo, PMB. 5074 Ilesa
Osun state.

Leventis Foundation/ Kaduna state
Agricultural Training School
Dogon Dawa, Birini Gwari LG
PMB 1047, Zaria, Kaduna State.

Leventis Foundation/ Kano state
Agricultural training School
Panda, Albasu Local Government
PMB 2555, Kano State

Leventis Foundation/ Gombe State
Agricultural training School
Tumu, Akko Local Government
Gombe State.

Leventis foundation/ FCT
Agricultural training School
Yaba, Abaji Area Council
PMB 001, Abaji, Abuja.

The General Manager ( Technical and Training)
Leventis Foundation ( Nigeria) Ltd/Gte
2, Leventis close, Central Business District
P.O. Box 20351, Garki Abuja, FCT
In addition to the regular one – year training, all Leventis ( Nigeria) schools offer a variety of vocational targeted short courses in several aspects of farming e.g poultry production, vegetable production, bee- keeping, honey production, fish farming, mushroom production etc.

3. Digital Africa Startup challenge for African startups. The first edition of the Digital Africa Challenge, launched in October 2016, received more than 500 application and rewarded 10 winning startups which convinced the judging panel on the potential impact of their innovation. Building on this success, AFD and Bpifrance decided to renew the experience with the objective of offering a long-term support to the emergence of mature and solid digital ecosystems catalysts of new economic development
Benefits:
> all the startup winners of this second edition of the Digital Africa Challenge will benefit from a high visibility and access an international network of partners, clients, and investors.
> they will be part of a community that gathers the best talents of digital innovation in Africa and for Africa, in order to share experiences and good practices.
> the African winning startups will be accompanied by the AFD through an ” acceleration pack”, a customizable, technical and financial support up to 30.000 euros value
> the 5 French winning startups will be accompanied by Bpifrance up to a 10.000 euros value support pack to strengthen their expertise and develop new opportunities on the African continent: Bpifrance Universite training, networking and discovery trip to Abidjan and Cape Town with the French entrepreneurs community in the French Tech Hubs.

Selection Criteria:
For this second edition of digital Africa, startups are invited to propose innovative projects linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
• Territory( urban challenge, rural transformation, and smart city etc)
• Citizenship ( e- government, civic engagement, activism, and alternative media etc)
• Knowledge and creativity ( education, formation, creative and alternative media etc)
• Environment and climate( green tech, clean tech, Sustainable transportations, blue economy, and renewable energies etc)

The relevance of the solutions proposed their feasibility, sustainability and potential impact will be key criteria in the selection process divided in several steps:
• An extensive analysis of the projects, of their innovative nature and of their business model
• A review of the pre- selected projects by AFD and Bpifrance experts;
• For final selection by a jury composed by experts of the technological and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa.

4. Biz plan for Her( Bizplan 4her 1.0)programme. Biz plan 4 her 1.0 is an interactive business forum designed to reaffirm the importance of and demystifying the process of business planning for current and aspiring female entrepreneurs and those that believe in female entrepreneurship. It is an initiative designed to encourage female entrepreneurship across Nigeria.
Benefits of attending Bizplan 4her:
To help make better decisions and understand the costs of starting and running your venture
To help develop effective and efficient business strategies that would increase profits
To help you understand how to quantify and manage resources available to run your venture.
To minimise overhead costs of your venture
It is an avenue to network and share thoughts with other female business minded people

Eligibility:
21-35 years old females with interest in entrepreneurship
– must have a business concept/ idea( functional or development)
– resident in Nigeria only
BONUS: Access to free online business materials/ training + free business website domain registration and hosting and possibility of pitching your idea/ concept before potential investors
Note: accommodation and transportation to be covered by attendee.

5. Ashden International Awards 2018 for green entrepreneurs from developing nations. Be recognised as a sustainable energy innovator
The application process for the 2018 Ashden Awards is now closed, though registration for 2019 Awards is here
Why apply for an Ashden Awards?
• Award of up to £20,000
• National and international media exposure
• Tailored support to develop your work even further
• Media materials to help you tell your story.