BIG STORY
Firstbank Partners With Eloy Foundation To Promote The Sustainability Of Female-Owned Small Businesses
In furtherance of the need to empower female business owners across the country, The ELOY Foundation, in partnership with FirstBank presents the ELOY Foundation Business Shower, created to support female entrepreneurs on their journey to building sustainable businesses. The support from FirstBank will be carried out through the FirstGem loan scheme designed for female-owned or partnered MSMEs and its SMEConnect initiative.
The partnership focuses on key sectors of the economy and is designed to have female entrepreneurs exposed to essential business skills like training, networking, and the ELOY Foundation Business Toolkit, a compilation of business survival skills nuggets. The business shower will avail businesses a platform to pitch their ideas to win seed grants and join the ELOY Foundation Sustainable Empowerment Programme 2022. Participants will also be able to access the FirstGem single-digit loan, where eligible
The ELOY Foundation Business Shower will hold in 5 locations across the country. Kicking off in Lagos on 23 June 2022, the train moves to Port Harcourt on 25 June 2022, then Abuja on 30 June 2022. In July, Kano and Abia will host female business owners on the 2nd and 7th, respectively.
The ELOY Awards Foundation Business Showers will offer an avenue to sustain women’s empowerment by providing entrepreneurial training and mentorship from experienced businessmen and women, arming participants with tools and information to help them grow their businesses.
According to Tewa Onasanya, Founder of the ELOY Awards Foundation, “it is not just enough to talk about empowering business owners, it is very important to sustain empowerment by providing guidance towards their business progress and giving them access to different resources to help them continue to thrive. MSMEs are the backbone of any nation and there is a great need to sustain this chain of the economy. It is on this common ground that FirstBank has partnered with the ELOY Team to contribute meaningfully in empowering women to achieve fulfillment in their chosen business endeavors.“
Speaking on the partnership, Folake An-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank said, “We commend ELOY Foundation for their efforts on this initiative as the continued strengthening and inclusiveness of female-driven business endeavors is essential to the growth of the national economy. We are happy to partner with ELOY Foundation on its Business Shower. Together, we will drive the entrepreneurial viability of participants and expose them to business nuggets that will take their business to the next level.
Woven into the fabric of society for over 128 years, FirstBank plays a leading role in supporting women through strategic empowerment, capacity building, and mentorship programs for women in MSME, leveraging its FirstGem and SMEConnect propositions to women across diverse sectors of the economy as well as strategic partnerships with women empowerment organizations like ELOY.
Registration is currently ongoing for the ELOY Business Shower via the link below.
https://eloyawards.com/eloy-business-shower-registration/
Female business owners are encouraged to send in their business pitch video and business plan for a spot on the ELOY Foundation Sustainable Empowerment Program and a chance to win a grant for their business.
About ELOY Awards Foundation
The ELOY Awards Foundation was launched with the primary aim to empower women business owners through partnerships for access to grants and affordable finance, entrepreneurial training, mentoring, and networking for sustainable empowerment.
The ELOY Awards Foundation is about empowering and challenging thousands of women to be more and do more by providing access to resources and business skills for them to be able to grow, transform and sustain their businesses, which will, in turn, benefit their families and the community at large.
Our watchword is SUSTAINABLE EMPOWERMENT. That is why we have developed programs and initiatives that invest in the success and sustainability of women-owned businesses.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 128 years.
With over 750 business locations and over 150,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 30 million customers. The Bank has an international presence through its subsidiaries, FBNBank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone, and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
The Bank has been handy at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 10 million cards, the first bank to achieve such a milestone in the country. FirstBank’s cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 10 million people on its USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code and over 4.5 million people on the FirstMobile platform.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimized risk management, and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatization and commercialization schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, with an internationally competitive world-class brand, and a credible financial partner.
FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15 years. Our brand purpose is always to put customers, partners, and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardize customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision “To be the partner of the first choice in building your future”. Our brand promise is always to deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.
The challenges facing women engaged in cross-border trade across West Africa took centre stage at the ECOWAS Caravan 2025, held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, on July 11, 2025.
Launched this year by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Caravan is a transformative empowerment initiative designed to support small-scale women traders in West Africa’s informal trade sector.
The two-week journey followed the Abidjan–Lagos trade corridor, running from June 30 to July 14, with major stops in Abidjan, Lomé, Cotonou, and Lagos, culminating at the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre.
Speaking during the official launch of the Lagos leg and the caravan’s closing ceremony, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender, Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, emphasised the pivotal role women play in the region’s informal economy.
“Women are the lifeblood of informal trade in West Africa… this caravan is about visibility, voice, and value — it’s about shifting narratives and shaping policies that support women where it matters most: on the ground,” she said.
Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, officially launched the Lagos stage of the sensitisation and awareness campaign for small-scale women traders. She described the initiative as a timely and necessary intervention.
“This initiative is a direct response to equip and empower our women, who form the majority of traders along the corridor and represent the backbone of informal cross-border trade across the region.
“These women play a critical role in ensuring food security, creating jobs, and sustaining livelihoods in both border communities and their homes.”
According to Ambrose-Medebem, these women are more than traders; they are economic builders who continue to operate under conditions marked by uncertainty and frequent harassment.
She stressed that the campaign represents a significant step forward, aiming to expand awareness of trade regulations, legal frameworks, and ECOWAS community protocols that govern cross-border commerce.
Speaking to the press, the commissioner noted that the Lagos State Government remains committed to supporting informal sector traders, particularly women entrepreneurs.
“I want to say that Mr Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, approved ₦500 billion for MSMEs under the Lagos State Access to Finance initiative for small businesses through cooperatives at 0% interest,” she disclosed.
The fund, matched by the Bank of Industry with another ₦500 billion, is non-collateralised, features a six-month moratorium, and offers a competitive 9% interest rate.
Dr Chinyere Almona, Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), applauded ECOWAS for its commitment to gender equality and regional integration, calling this year’s campaign “symbolic and necessary.”
“For women working in agriculture, fisheries, artisanal value chains, and cross-border trade, their daily grind is not just a livelihood; it’s an act of resilience and enterprise.
“Women traders form the uncelebrated backbone of West Africa’s informal trade economy, representing over 70% of informal cross-border traders and playing an indispensable role in food supply.”
Almona urged governments and stakeholders to invest in institutionalised, continuous capacity building through community-based training hubs in local languages, digitalisation of border procedures, and the creation of mobile-friendly platforms to expedite trade clearance and improve efficiency.
“Women in the informal trade are producing the formal results that is adding to the GDP and creating major employments.”
In her remarks, Princess Omotola Omole, National President of the Federation of Business Women Entrepreneurs (FEBWE), commended ECOWAS for its steadfast support of women.
“ECOWAS has consistently stood with women, ready to support, connect, and empower every woman who dares to dream big and trade to uplift her community,” she said.
Others who presented papers included the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Ruth Abisola Olusanya, who sent a representative.
The ECOWAS Small Business Coalition also expressed heartfelt appreciation to the ECOWAS Commission, partners, collaborators, and delegates for their pivotal roles in making the ECOWAS Caravan 2025 a landmark success.
Dr. Abdulrashid Yerima, speaking on behalf of the coalition, emphasised the collaborative impact of the caravan, stating, “The bridges we build today become the trade routes of tomorrow’s prosperity.”
He also praised the ECOWAS Commission for its leadership and credited the collective synergy of partners and delegates for transforming challenges into opportunities.
The closing ceremony, which hosted over 300 participants from across ECOWAS member states, featured an interactive town hall meeting where panellists addressed key topics such as capacity building, awareness strategies, and toolkit presentations, while also responding to audience questions.
Building on the successes of previous editions, the Tema–Paga corridor in 2023 and the Dakar–Banjul–Bissau route in 2024, the 2025 ECOWAS Caravan not only boosted the economic potential of women traders but also strengthened trade facilitation, enhanced market access, and fostered robust institutional partnerships across participating nations.
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