They play a most viable and pivotal role in the value chain of societal preservation; ranging from food production, preservation, distribution, conservation and consumption.
They are a most veritable bloc in the entrepreneurial stratosphere in Africa, accounting for over 70% engagement in both above and below the line indices, yet they are, for the most part, overlooked, underserved and undervalued.
This necessitated the incursion of Temitope Akinyemi and her co-founder in setting up THE MARKET WOMEN INITIATIVE aimed at giving voice and crystallization to the growth aspirations of this unique demographic.
In addition to granting access to informal, interest-free loans (to help scale up their business processes and procedures), Tope and her MWI team also offer a 4-week intensive training to the women which borders on topical issues like simple bookkeeping and accounting practices, profit, loss and savings monitoring, customer service and customer retention, financial literacy, etc.
For Tope and her team at Market Women Initiative, the roles played by the women they serve, are invaluable to having a stable, self sustaining and replenishing society and entrenching this is their considered life mission.
Enjoy this edition of The 3rd Sector featuring Temitope Akinyemi, Co-founder, Market Women Initiative.

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At a time when women rights suffrage was still alien to the national and global discourse, for the first time in Nigerian/African history, the position of a President's wife moved from that of dainty obscurity to national prominence.
This is solely due to the efforts of a woman who has come to be referred to, (and aptly so), as Africa's foremost First Lady of all time; Her Excellency, Late Hajiya Dr. (Mrs.) Maryam Ndidi Babangida (nee. Okogwu) (1941-2009), when she launched the Better Life for Rural Women Program during her time in office as Nigeria's First Lady (1985-1993).
The Better Life Program was the vehicle through which Dr. (Mrs.) Babangida brought to the fore and addressed issues relating to women and children development on a national scale.
So glaring was the success of the Better Life Program (under the leadership of Late Mrs. Babangida) that globally renowned development organizations like UNICEF, partnered with the initiative; riding on the back of its national, regional and continental appeal, to engage Africa's most rural (and urban slum) population dwellers in combating and successfully taming the 6 childhood killer diseases at the time!
Today, over a decade after her demise, The Better Life Program is still waxing strong and has been relaunched and revitalized by Her Excellency Dr. Aisha .I. Babangida (First daughter of Maryam and former 1st Lady, Zamfara State, Nigeria) and has attained greater gravitas in building upon the enduring legacy of the great work started by her beloved late mother; reaching a younger generation of Africans and scaling up the instituted thematic focus areas established by the Founder covering
●Child Health & Safety
●Economic empowerment of rural (& urban slum) women
●Adult Women Literacy and
●Access to Finance (via cooperative societies and microfinance).
The goal of which still remains A BETTER LIFE for the African rural women (and children), H.E Aisha .I. Babangida has taken bold steps, guided by her mother's landmarks to institute and establish offshoot initiatives and programs of her own such as the "Women Enterprise Alliance" (WENA) Initiative and most recently the "Mothers of the Nation" Confluence; aimed at celebrating and documenting the contributions of past Nigerian First Ladies and their efforts at national/regional development that will ensure the enduring and sustainable impact of these programs and objectives in the lives of underserved Africans.
On this edition of The 3rd Sector, H.E Aisha Babangida sits with host, Kemak Onyenaucheya, and reminisces about the legacy of her beloved mother as well as the developmental steps that the Better Life Foundation is taking, since her reining the helms of leadership.
It is a very heartwarming and engaging one.

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Literally blazing the trail from the back end of the room, Ambassador Joy Ndidi Chukwu has earned herself a place on the front row; and rightly so! A proverbial child of providence, loosing her father as a little girl exposed Joy and her 5 siblings to the realities of life in clear cut terms. She watched her mother; a young widow, rise to the challenge in filling the role of both father and mother; deliberately and inadvertently modeling for young Joy the strengths and resilience of the determined human spirit. From a very young age, Joy knew exactly what it was she wanted out of life and began taking practical, deliberate steps towards achieving her dreams. Today Joy Ndidi is an accomplished author, finance and accounting analyst, economist, businesswoman, life coach, youth mobilizer and so much more! She has consistently re-invented herself and her belief in the inherent power of the mind to design and reproduce the destination of its owner drives her strong advise to the youth. This is the message she takes around the world in mobilizing youth for effectiveness and maximized living through her Reactivate Great Minds Summit.

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"Fabulous Fabia" Ogunmekan, (as fondly called by friends and associates), is a proud daughter of Rivers State; one of Nigeria's richest oil producing states in the Niger Delta region, who ironically, for the first time in her adult life, found herself living in Port Harcourt, the city capital -on taking up leadership in a nonprofit organization focused on environmental sustainability in the Niger Delta. She holds a LLB in Law from the University College; as well a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Cass Business School, City University, both in London. Her passion for philanthropy has found expression in an unusual marriage of the Law and Philanthropy.
She currently serves as the Executive Secretary of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR); Nigeria's leading nonprofit saddled with career and personal leadership development of young women, where she drives innovation and strategy in aligning the vision and project implementation of the organization. She shares her passion for development on this edition of The 3rd Sector.

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Her name literally translates to "THE LEGENDARY ONE" and for Enitan Ibironke, life has lost its essence if it is not lived to the point that legends are made of.
A trained lawyer, certified etiquette coach, journalist and brand specialist, Enitan through her Legend Life Foundation is helping young Africans craft a narrative for their lives that is focused on bringing effective image and personal/corporate brand communication to their daily existence.
She believes that every life has and should tell a story and she is well on her way to ensuring that these stories are not only told, but factored into an overall scheme of humanity existence that drives self and others to maximum life and living.

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The 9-11 attacks on the world trade center in New York, pushed Hon. Adetola Salau, an engineer, to volunteer her expertise as a STEM Educator in the public school system of the City of New York. She was moved by the sense of shared loss, perceived hopelessness and vulnerability that loomed over her city in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
This same resolve to provide panacea to the seeming flaccidity in the Nigerian educational system led her to pack her bags and return home to Nigeria in the mid 2000s to spearhead a revolution in STEM Education (targeting the lower primary to upper secondary levels of Nigerian education).
To this daughter of educators, a career in education is a no-brainer as both her parents were Professors (her dad the late Professor Salau, serving as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Port Harcourt and her mum Prof. Oreoluwa Salau, Nigeria's first female meteorologist).
"PASSIONATE ABOUT STEM", Tola found innovative ways to merge her love for children, her passion for STEM and her deeply ingrained desire that children receive qualitative, affordable STEM education.
These she has passionately pursued through the Carisma-4-U Educational Foundation; a social enterprise set up by Tola on her return to Nigeria, through which she organizes free summer and recurrent STEM workshops for indigent children.
Today, she holds the forth as the Senior Special Assistant, STEM Education at the Lagos State Ministry of Education, where under the leadership of the Honorable Commissioner, she drives policy and designs programs for the improvement in learning outcomes and outputs in STEM education in Lagos State.

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Funke Oguntuga will not be silenced! As a young impressionable, 14 year old high school girl, Funke experienced what would leave many a 40 year old damaged for life! Her trust was broken, her abuse; though preventable, became an inevitable part of her life which shaped her in so many ways; most of which resulting in near self compromise, laced with an abashed undermining of her worth and treasure value.
26 years later, she would "RISE LIKE A PHOENIX" from the ashes of her past and is today leading the campaign against sexual and other forms of abuse against teenage girls and boys alike through her HeartMinders Societal Advancement Initiative.
She continues to be the spokesperson for over 500,000 high school students where she teaches sex education and preservation in 2 of the 6 Education Districts in Lagos State, Nigeria.
She is a leading provider of psychological support to rape victims and gender based violence survivors.
Funke has taken back power from the situations which sought to undermine her and she is running with it!

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Serial entrepreneur, Dr. Omopeju Afalu, shares her time between running Cooperhouse Hospitality Ltd (a vast conglomerate with vested interests in Hospitality and Real Estate development across major cities in Nigeria and Africa) and consulting with several world-class local & international organizations and agencies including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Lagos State Employability Trust Fund (LSETF), Cross River State Government, Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program, Delloite Women in Africa Mentoring Program, Friendship Ambassadors Foundation USA, Women Empowerment & Development Platform, etc.She is a published author, an accomplished speaker, trainer, and panelist at conferences, symposia, and workshops across the globe. Extremely passionate about young Africans aligning their strengths with workable plans for success, join Dr. Peju as she shares with us on "MENTORING & ARRESTING YOUTH RESTIVENESS

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Serial entrepreneur, Dr. Omopeju Afalu, shares her time between running Cooperhouse Hospitality Ltd (a vast conglomerate with vested interests in Hospitality and Real Estate development across major cities in Nigeria and Africa) and consulting with several world-class local & international organizations and agencies including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Lagos State Employability Trust Fund (LSETF), Cross River State Government, Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program, Delloite Women in Africa Mentoring Program, Friendship Ambassadors Foundation USA, Women Empowerment & Development Platform, etc.

She is a published author, an accomplished speaker, trainer, and panelist at conferences, symposia, and workshops across the globe. Extremely passionate about young Africans aligning their strengths with workable plans for success, join Dr. Peju as she shares with us on "MENTORING & ARRESTING YOUTH RESTIVENESS

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/3rd-sector--4202978/support.

Clare Henshaw, International Development Consultant and leading African social sector practitioner is well versed in grassroots mobilization and empowerment. Her years of meritorious service in the nonprofit sector have seen her oversee numerous international projects including the 2018/19 UNDP/Lagos State Employability Trust Fund intervention. Her passion for youth empowerment knows no cap and she shares with us, on this edition of The 3rd Sector, her vision and invaluable work in GIRL CHILD EDUCATION & ITS IMPACT ON NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, on the platform of Girls Inspired Development Network; a nonprofit founded and executive directed by her.

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