WIMBIZ revives care initiative to empower women amid woes

Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) is reviving its care initiative this month to help families, especially women, scale through current economic hardship.

Speaking at the WIMBIZ’s International Women’s Day (IWD) event last week, Hanatu Adegbite, executive director of WIMBIZ, said the current economic hardship on many individuals, families and communities made the organisation consider the IWD month as an opportunity to extend their love to communities.

“The theme for 2024 for IWD which is ‘Be Inspired: Be Included’, inspires inclusion which is what WIMBIZ has been doing for 23 years. So, we were way ahead of the times,” she said.

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Their focus, she explained, is on inspiring and empowering women to become the best versions of themselves, allowing them to significantly influence and contribute to national development.

“It is truly timely, and the call for inclusion across all aspects of life resonates deeply.”

Nigeria is facing a high inflation rate of 29.9 percent coupled with foreign exchange volatility, food inflation, and a surge in petrol prices which has eroded consumer spending and left many in despair.

The WIMBIZ’s care initiative was initially born out of the challenges associated with the pandemic and the need for collective action to combat the spread of the virus by supplying relief materials to Nigerians in 2020 but it has been revived this month to support women, families and communities during the current economic hardship.

The IWD program in Lagos offered women a platform for celebration and learning. The event featured various sessions on health, business, and a fireside chat centered on the theme of inspiration and inclusion.

Ngozi Anyaegbunam, a non-executive director at Seven-Up Bottling Company, shared her journey of inspiration and fostering inclusion.

She spoke about being inspired by a younger friend to pursue a Master’s degree in Law after already having two degrees.

“I was inspired by my friend, who was 12 years younger than me to pursue my Master in Law, I call her my mentor,” she said.

Anyaegbunam also spoke on how she has strived to inspire other women, detailing a specific instance where she helped a junior colleague create a work schedule that allowed her to care for her child, preventing the colleague’s resignation.