MTN Foundation Launches First Phase of Y’ellopreneur Initiative

On Tuesday, November 8, 2022, MTN Foundation in partnership with the Bank of Industry and the Enterprise Development Centre, hosted the media to the official launch of MTN Y’ellopreneur, a capacity building programme for female entrepreneurs.

The event, hosted by Bolanle Olosunde-Jenrola, held at the MTN Nigeria Head Office in Falomo, Ikoyi.

It was well attended by media representatives from various media organisations.

MTN Foundation executives were also present to shed more light on the goal of the Y’ellopreneur initiative.

The event kicked off with opening remarks from Director, MTN Foundation, Dr Mosun Belo-Olusoga, who spoke on MTN Foundation’s commitment to providing platforms to empower Nigerian women.

She also highlighted the key impact the Y’ellopreneur initiative will have on women-owned businesses.

She stated, “Understanding the need to support women in business, and provide them with resources and opportunities, is why the Board of MTN Foundation approved the rollout of MTN Y’ellopreneur.”

“This initiative will contribute to a reduction in female unemployment and advance development through training designed to enhance entrepreneurial abilities. This is a cause I am particularly passionate about, and I am gratified that MTN is demonstrating its continued commitment to supporting women’s development through the implementation of the Y’ellopreneur initiative,’’ she said.

The Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya further shared details about the process of selecting participants, saying: ‘’At the Foundation, we are particular about the types of business we want to fund. For us, it is about the real economy, and today we are training women across a range of businesses including; Manufacturing, ICT, Agriculture, Waste Management and Recycling. We also have women across the country as part of the selected participants.’’

The event was complemented with interactive activities, such as a video presentation, fire chat discussion and Q&A session.

It was indeed an atmosphere of learning, coupled with fun and excitement.

MTN Y’ellopreneur initiative is focused on advancing women’s development in the area of entrepreneurship through capacity building, advisory and business support services.

The initiative is designed to build the entrepreneurial skills of 500 women, through capacity-building sessions that will run for four weeks, and the outstanding 150 entrepreneurs with bankable businesses will be supported with an equipment loan of up to N2 million each at a fixed interest rate of 2.5% and 36 months repayment duration.