Since 2017, The General Assembly of The United Nations, in recognition of the importance of Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises set aside the 27th of June to celebrate them and the role they play in local and global economies. These enterprises normally employ fewer than 250 people and are the strength of most economies in developing countries and worldwide.
Also to mark this day, a social sector networking event was held at the Ford Foundation, Lagos. The event which holds quarterly brought together relevant change makers with the purpose of building social sector intelligence around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to Connect, Share and Learn in order to yield greater collaboration for Africa’s development.
The social sector networking event is a platform for individuals and organizations in the social sector and NGO space to meet, with the aim of encouraging partnership opportunities. It is organized once every quarter by Young Adult Professionals and Entrepreneurs and Philanthropy Circuit and supported by Ford Foundation and The Chris Ogunbanjo Foundation.
Some of the organizations that were represented include Enough Is Enough Foundation, Leap Africa Foundation, Third Sector Development, Admirable Ladies Foundation, Nigeria Network of NGOs, Institute For Work And Family Integration, Junior Achievers Nigeria, Tutelage Educational Services among many others. The Executive Director of The Chris Ogunbanjo Foundation, Funke Shonekan anchored the event.
During the group discussions, Alero Ogholi of Rural Development and Reformation Foundation (RUDERF) stated that her organization creates opportunities for people living in rural and semi -urban communities from disadvantaged groups and backgrounds with the aim of ending extreme poverty by designing programs to strategically solve social, economic and developmental problems prevalent in rural and urban communities. LEAP Africa’s representative mentioned that the organization develops and implements cutting-edge leadership training programmes for young Africans on Leadership and Life Skills, Employability Skills and Entrepreneurship skills. Promise Ekewuba said his organization, Tutelage Educational Services, although a for profit organization offers free trainings to teachers of public and private schools to equip them with 21st century skills. These trainings came in response to the fact that some teachers lack quality teaching skills, do not have the necessary qualifications and as a result, they fail to provide quality teaching for students and this in turn produces poor learning outcomes.
The representative of Pastor Bimbo Odukoya Foundation told other guests that the Foundation’s most recent initiative is called SHARP- Sexual Harassment And Rape Prevention. They believe that it is not enough to rescue sexual assault victims and create a safe environment for them but it is also important to educate young people on ways to prevent rape and sexual harassment. Mrs Iretiola Adebayo-Olubi of Moral Value Reorientation made the group know that her organization seeks to instil moral and behavioural values into people; especially those in the marginalised groups like prisoners and students of public schools. They involve them in sports that poorer people do not normally engage in like golf and lawn tennis. They take them to golf courses and tennis courts to learn and practice the game. These people are also trained in soft skills to boost their employability.
There was a speed networking session where participants exchanged contacts, shared ideas and explored opportunities for partnership towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals before 2030.
