News
Women Entrepreneurs: Driving Force Behind Economic Growth in Africa
With focus on supporting the growth and development of women entrepreneurs in Africa, Mastercard has committed to three partnerships that will impact women in Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.
This comes in celebration of the annual Women Entrepreneurship Day, serving as a reminder of the important role women play in economic development in Africa.
The partnerships will include Injaz in Egypt, Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) in Nigeria and Junior Achievement South Africa (JA South Africa).
These partnerships will focus on empowering young girls and women through financial literacy training and mentorship, giving them access to a network of women in similar situations.
Supporting these female entrepreneurs is vital to their sustained growth, as they become self-sufficient and better able to provide for themselves and their families.
This has a positive impact on their immediate community as well, with knowledge transfer and employment opportunities being created.
The importance becomes even more evident when you consider that Africa has the world’s highest rate of working poverty – people who are employed but earning less than US$2 a day.
Additionally, according to the World Bank Africa’s youth population is expected to grow by 42.5 million by 2020.
Partnerships That Work
In Egypt, Mastercard will collaborate with Injaz Egypt to introduce a skills development program for young female entrepreneurs to help them establish, sustain and grow their businesses.
Twenty teams of Egyptian women aged between 21 and 27 over an eight month period will be empowered to pursue their dreams and establish their financial independence. Trainings will include planning and review of establishing a business model.
With women making up almost 50 percent of the population in Egypt, and according to the CAPMAS study they are the head of almost 18 percent of households but only constitute less than a quarter of the country’s labour force.
With an unemployment rate of 12.5 percent, small and medium enterprises are a vital catalyst for economic growth.
Across in Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa – Mastercard has recommitted to its partnership with YTF to continue efforts to improve the lives of women through financial literacy, technology and skills-enhancement training.
The partnership, established in 2012, will now include the training and mentorship of 150 apprentices, talented young women that are now working for female business owners that have previously gone through or are currently going through the YTF programme.
This will create a ripple effect that will impact generations of women in Nigeria. To date, the partnership has impacted over 11,000 Nigerian women entrepreneurs across 14 states.
To see how much of an impact the partnership has had – watch the story of Afoma Ebri, an entrepreneur from Owerri in Nigeria.
In South Africa, Mastercard will be extending its support of the JA South Africa Mini Enterprise Programme for the sixth year, with a R1.4 million donation that sees more than 450 learners, predominantly young women, participate in the organisation’s flagship programme. To date, over 2,500 young South Africans have benefited from the partnership.
The Mini Enterprise Programme guides the selected Grade 10 and 11 learners from 13 schools across seven provinces in theory and practical sessions over a 15 week period.
Focusing on business theory, accounting, cash flow and marketing, the programme helps the learners to develop and market their own product to their community, while building their interpersonal skills and confidence.
Stories of Hope and Resilience
The impact being made through the collaboration between Mastercard and YTF is evident by the stories of women in Nigeria empowering themselves and their families. Eucharia, a 36 year old proud mother of four, started her tiling and building materials supply business Tokaf Investments in what is a typically male-dominated industry.
Another challenge was an over-sized and under-used warehouse that served as more of a liability than an asset.
The training she received enabled her to totally re-brand her business and grow it by 60% using mobile technology to engage with her customers.
Euchaira has cut costs significantly and created growth that allows her to support her family, and also help mentor young girls in her community.
Bonolo Modise, aged 20, completed the JA South Africa course in 2013. Since primary school, she has run a small business called Jewellery by Noli, and makes custom jewellery using water pearls and African beads. Like her, nineteen-year old Faith Modipa completed the JA course in the same year, and is now studying a BCom in Accounting Sciences at the University of Pretoria. She aims to open her own accounting practice, and will draw on the skills learnt during the programme.
Partnerships across the continent, such as those established by Mastercard, will go a long way in securing the future of women as they establish themselves as business owners. Women entrepreneurs will have a dramatic impact on the growth of economies across Africa, and should not be underestimated.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has alerted its customers to a fraudulent message circulating on social media, falsely claiming that electricity consumers can receive an additional 20 per cent bonus units when recharging their prepaid meters through unofficial channels.
In a statement issued by the company’s management on Monday, YEDC described the claim as false and urged customers to disregard the misleading information, stressing that it did not originate from the company.
According to the statement, YEDC does not offer bonus electricity units through individuals, agents, personal bank accounts, phone numbers, or social media contacts.
The company advised customers to purchase electricity tokens only through approved cashless payment platforms, including the YEDC Pay App, OPay, Interswitch, and other authorised vending channels, or to visit the nearest YEDC office for assistance.
YEDC also cautioned customers against sharing their meter details or personal information, or making payments to unauthorised persons claiming to represent the company.
The company further urged customers to rely exclusively on information disseminated through its official communication channels to avoid falling victim to fraud.
The management thanked customers for their continued cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to serving them.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that two foreign currency accounts opened in connection with the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) have remained inactive since their creation, with no funds deposited and no transactions recorded.
The revelation emerged on Monday during the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing the circumstances surrounding the establishment and operations of the council.
Lawmakers are investigating allegations that the PFIPC was created and operated without a valid legal framework and outside the established procedures required for government agencies and institutions.
Appearing before the committee, representatives of both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) distanced their institutions from the establishment of the council.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation stated that it neither created the council nor possessed the constitutional authority to establish federal agencies.
Representing the office, officials explained that the OHCSF is only responsible for approving administrative structures of government agencies after all necessary requirements have been fulfilled.
According to the office, records showed that the council submitted a request on August 6, 2025, seeking approval for its organisational structure.
However, the application was not approved because the required supporting documents were not attached.
The committee heard that despite the rejection of the request, officials linked to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC)/PFIPC later appeared during the 2025 manpower budget defence exercise and sought approval for staffing and recruitment arrangements.
The office disclosed that the council informed government officials that its activities were being carried out largely through personnel seconded or deployed from other institutions.
Lawmakers were told that the council requested approval for a total of 314 positions. The figure consisted of 14 existing officers and an additional 300 proposed positions.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service further revealed that concerns later arose regarding documents presented by the council as evidence of its legal backing.
Officials told the committee that upon examination, the documents failed to display essential features expected of an enabling law or valid legal instrument establishing a government body.
Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, head of the Civil Service of the Federation, also rejected claims that her office deployed civil servants to work for the council.
She maintained that the office did not assign personnel to the body and did not provide office accommodation for its operations.
According to her, matters relating to the creation, supervision and oversight of government agencies fall under the responsibilities of other relevant institutions, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The Central Bank of Nigeria also provided details regarding accounts linked to the council.Nigerian current events
Hamisu Abdullahi, director at the apex bank, who represented the CBN Governor before the committee, explained that the bank opened two foreign currency accounts following a formal request from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He told lawmakers that the request was received on July 30, 2025, and instructed the bank to create a United States dollar domiciliary account and a Pound Sterling domiciliary account.
Abdullahi stressed that the CBN only opens accounts for government agencies after receiving official authorisation from the Accountant-General’s office.
However, he disclosed that the accounts never became operational because the council failed to provide authorised signatories required for activation.
As a result, both accounts remained dormant from the day they were opened.
He informed the committee that neither account had received deposits nor processed withdrawals. The accounts also recorded no foreign exchange allocations, remittances, inflows or outflows.Governor election news
According to him, the balances in both accounts remain at zero.
The CBN official further stated that the council did not engage directly with the apex bank regarding the management or operation of the accounts after they were created.
Following the submissions, members of the committee demanded more information as part of efforts to determine the full scope of the council’s activities.
Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, chairman of the committee, directed the Central Bank to submit comprehensive records relating to both the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The committee requested details covering the opening of the accounts, their operational history and any information connected to related banking activities.
Lawmakers also instructed the CBN to work with commercial banks to identify and provide records of any accounts linked to the entities under investigation.
However, the committee is expected to continue its hearings as more government agencies and officials appear before lawmakers to provide explanations on the controversial council and the circumstances surrounding its operations.
STEM Africa Fest, an annual science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education event designed to expose children to hands-on learning, returned to Lagos, with organisers urging greater integration of practical STEM education into Nigeria’s school curriculum to prepare young people for future careers.
The organisers said the initiative has reached over 25,000 children across Africa in six years, renewing calls for greater integration of practical STEM education into Nigeria’s school curriculum.
The festival, which began in 2021 during the COVID-19 lockdown, has expanded beyond Nigeria to Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Zambia, Rwanda and Kenya, promoting experiential learning through science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). The sixth edition which held in Lagos, attracted about 3,500 children and parents from all over.
Conveners, Titi Adewusi and Jadesola Adedeji, said the initiative was conceived to address the gap between classroom theory and practical learning, giving children opportunities to build, experiment and interact with emerging technologies.
According to Adewusi, this year’s theme, “Building Future Innovators”, reflects the organisers’ vision of nurturing Africa’s next generation of innovators, problem-solvers and creative thinkers.
“Children are learning the theories and we wanted to bring the real thing, hands-on. If you’re teaching a child about 3D printing, we want them to actually experience it. If you’re teaching a child about building robots or AI, we wanted them to experience it,” she said.
Adedeji, said the idea for the festival emerged from a shared desire to make science education more engaging after discussions between the founders several years ago.
She said the maiden edition, held during the pandemic, attracted over 1,000 participants globally, while the first physical edition recorded over 6,000 attendees.
They identified funding, stakeholder mobilisation and expanding the festival to other locations as some of the challenges encountered since its inception. They noted that increasing demand from different states and African countries had prompted them to adopt a partnership model that allows collaborators replicate the programme using an established framework.
They also urged governments at all levels to strengthen support for STEM education by integrating practical learning into school curricula and partnering with private organisations to improve access to science and technology education.
Adewusi said they have developed a STEM curriculum that is being implemented in some schools and expressed readiness to collaborate with the government to expand its adoption in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on quality education.
Adedeji added that government support should go beyond funding to include curriculum development, teacher training and institutional backing for STEM-focused initiatives.
Representing Access Holdings, Programme Manager for Sustainability, Ikechukwu Iheagwam, said the company’s continued support for the festival aligns with its commitment to advancing education and technology.
He said exposing children to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics would better prepare them for the future, adding that private sector participation should complement government efforts in improving STEM education.
Some pupils who attended the festival said the practical sessions strengthened their interest in science and technology.
A student of Court Hill College, Opebi, Jason Lawal, said he participated in activities including a Rubik’s Cube challenge and an artificial intelligence masterclass where participants created short AI-generated animations.
Another student of Greater Ecstasy High School, Iyana-Ipaja, Fatima Namama said attending the festival over the years had deepened her interest in laboratory science and technology. She called for wider integration of STEM education into the school curriculum and more opportunities for pupils to participate in similar learning events.
The organisers said the festival’s impact extends beyond attendance figures, noting that some former participants have returned in recent years as exhibitors in coding and robotics, reflecting its contribution to nurturing future innovators.
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