By Onwa Ekor, Calabar
Calabar Mums in collaboration with Cross River Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency (CR-MEDA) recently held a business summit, tagged “The Big Meet,” at the Prof Eyo Ita House in Calabar, the Cross River capital.
The summit which had as its theme, “Her money, her power,” saw three women carting home N500,000, N300,000 and N200,000 respectively, after their pitch presentations, while 20 others got sponsorships into the Enterprise Development Center (EDC), including 10 free business registrations for women.
Director General, MEDA, Mr. Great Ogban, informed that the gesture was in line with what the Cross River governor, Prince Bassey Otu, is doing across the 18 local government areas of the State through the agency.
“Governor Bassey Otu, in his People First Mantra is committed in ensuring that there is an entrepreneur in every home in Cross River, so the Calabar Mums decided to partner with MEDA to see how women in our communities can be empowered, strengthened and structured for profitable businesses.
“Recently, the Governor gave approval for 1000 free CAC registrations in Cross River, today MEDA is offering 10 free registrations for the women who are still in the shadow economy, running their businesses but not registered,” Ogban said.
Continuing, he disclosed that the scholarship is funded by the Calabar Mums as a post event strategy for the women, adding that, the team would be sponsoring 20 women into the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) in the state for them to be properly trained and groomed for businesses.
On the Agency’s sustainability plan, MEDA DG remarked that “the agency is structured in a way that it has a department for mentorship where MSMEs are trained, we grant you access to finance for your business start-ups and expansion, while the monitoring and evaluation department also moves out all time to monitor the growth of businesses.”
Host of the event and founder, Calabar Mums, Victoria Ekpo, explained that the theme of the event is centered on financial independence for the women who hitherto waited for their partners to provide everything.
“We are creating a space where we have women who are already running good businesses come and encourage the younger ones who are aspiring to run businesses, tell us what and how their challenges were and how they were able to overcome these challenges.
“Today is the maiden edition of this business summit, we have many entrepreneurs who are constantly thriving to make ends meet, posting their businesses on platforms and I thought why can’t we bring them together so that they connect with other business owners who have overcome challenges,” Ekpo explained.
The Calabar Mums founder went philosophical as she said, “Your purpose is not for you alone to benefit from, there are several destinies tied to your purpose and until you answer your call, your purpose would not be fulfilled on earth.”
Lead Consultant, Justina Ovat Consulting and Country Rep for the African Association of women in tourism and hospitality, Justina Ovat, who spoke on “link between employee engagement and customer satisfaction,” maintained that to get loyal customers and seeing them satisfied, employees must be engaged, trained and encouraged with in-depth communication and feedback.
Aniekan Essienette of IbomAir in her presentation, tutored that building a brand that people love is not just about making profits but creating lasting experiences.
For CEO of Mee’s logistics and support services, Minika Efa, “every business ought to be structured through knowing what you are doing, the business you get involved in and the business of your business.”
