3rd Sector

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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Nkem Onwudiwe, Founder, HER Network, continues to utilize her lifestyle and inspirational platform to fan alive, the embers of passion, purpose, and potential in women.
Her expertise as a PR/Corporate communication strategist has taken her work (both online and offline) beyond the borders of her native Nigeria and Africa. She believes in equal rights for all, the inherent power in every human and the ability we have to self motivate and positively impact our world, and her globally renowned HER Network "Woman of the Year" Awards serves as a veritable platform where established and emerging women leaders are celebrated. There are many parts to Nkem Onwudiwe and they come together in "congenial contradictions"
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Universal health coverage eludes the vast majority of Africans. While this remains a worrisome trend, the BENJAMIN OLOWOJEBUTU FOUNDATION headed by Dr. Benjamin Olowojebutu has made it a life purpose to deliver life-saving medical surgeries for free to rural and urban slum low-income families.
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