March 06, (THEWILL) – Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti is the Managing Partner of Herconomy, a social enterprise and cooperative focused on connecting women to various opportunities such as scholarships, grants,fellowships and job opportunities. In commemoration of theInternational Women’s Day, she tells IVORY UKONU why she is passionate about helping women attain financial literacy and building capacity. Excerpts:
In layman’s terms, what is Herconomy all about?
Herconomy is a community for empowered women combined with a financial platform to enable the success of women. On our platform, you will not just save and earn high interests, but you will also save as you spend on things that you need on a day-to-day basis. We believe that women cannot be empowered through bank accounts alone, they need community, capacity and access to opportunities that can move them, their businesses or careers to the next level and we are providing just that through our platform. We are building a world where women can connect, save, earn and thrive.
What is the vision behind it and what motivated you to start it?
My mum is a lawyer by profession. As soon as she started having children, she put her career on the back burner and focused on looking after her family. When we were old enough and she wanted to start a business, she realised that she had no savings at all and she couldn’t make any meaningful financial contribution towards it and at this point in time, my parents were no longer together anymore. This situation put my mum in an extremely tough financial situation. She went through a lot to get back on her feet. I also saw so many other women go through the same thing. Many of them could not contribute financially to not just their families, they couldn’t make strong contributions politically, socially or even towards the education of their children, just because they were not empowered financially. But I noticed that this situation was not peculiar to my mum alone. It is typical for most African women. According to the International Monetary Fund, only 37 per cent of women in sub-Saharan Africa have bank accounts and almost none have any savings. This situation leads to all kinds of unfortunate situations and research has proven that when women are given a seat at the table, better decisions are made, and this is in all aspects of the society. Let us take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. The countries led by women did a lot better than the countries led by men. Women need to know that they can be all they want to be and if person A could achieve it, they can too, hence Herconomy.
You also run something called the enterprise challenge. What is it about?
The Herconomy Enterprise Challenge, formerly known as (AGS Enterprise Challenge), is a flagship initiative launched in 2018 to showcase, mentor, and fund female-led businesses in Nigeria. Since its launch, at least 18 female entrepreneurs have received grants through our online pitch competition with many other women empowered with resources to scale their businesses. The applicants send in their pitch decks and the top pitch decks are screened and selected by an independent panel of judges. Then there’s a live pitch done in front of a panel of judges and the top three winners are selected. Since we started, we have given grants out to 20 women.
Entries for the most recent enterprise challenge kicked off in December 2021 and was on till February 15, 2022. This year, Herconomy is bringing a twist to how the winners of the Enterprise Challenge will be unveiled. The Herconomy Enterprise Challenge is two-fold. There is the conference, which brings together stakeholders to discuss issues that affect women as well as co-create solutions that accelerate the attainment of gender parity. It is a platform that bridges the gaps in the gender sector, driving the need for mainstreaming gender into all developmental programs. Then there is the gala night which is a celebration of women who are doing great work in their various professional fields or impact work in the society. The awards and gala night gives attendees the opportunity to network and celebrate the successes achieved in the course of the year.
In what specific ways have you helped women to become financially literate and build capacity?
We are able to help women become financially literate by actively educating them. We have bi-weekly capacity building sessions where we bring thought leaders in various spheres of influence to speak to our community members. We also have other initiatives such as Untold Stories of Failures, How She Does It and many others where we bring on successful individuals to share their journeys.
How would you assess the impact of Herconomy on the average Nigerian woman since you launched it?
Since we launched, our impact has been tremendous. We have been able to train over 80,000 women online and offline and we hope to impact 1 million women by 2025.
Can you share an instance where Herconomy made a huge and sustainable impact that made you feel you are on the right track?
Let me give you an example. An example of our impact would be the story of one of our beneficiaries, Maryam Salami, founder of Mobaby Care, an organic skincare brand for children. We met in 2018 when she was a struggling business owner. Under our tutelage, she’s been trained on how to run a successful business. She was the first runnerup during our 2019 Challenge, so she also won a $5,000USD grant from us which she used to purchase equipment to ease production. Since then, her income has quadrupled, her products have also been certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and in a year, she grew from producing in her home to a production space. She also has distributors in over seven countries. Maryam now has her own income; she is contributing to the education and wellbeing of her three children. She has also moved houses to a better area and her standard of living is also better as a result of her improved income. She is also contributing to the economy by providing employment and paying her taxes. This is just one example. We have thousands of women who have gone through our training with similar testimonials. We are creating a ripple effect of empowered women who will not just get jobs but create jobs and contribute positively to their communities and nation as a whole.
More women are beginning to take better control of their finances, without waiting on any man. Some people argue that this new wave of financial awareness has negatively impacted on the marriage institution where men are the breadwinners. What do you think?
This is a tricky question. In my opinion, anyone that has challenges in marriage because the woman now has financial independence is a marriage that probably didn’t have a strong foundation. Let us look at things logically right. If the woman now has income to support the household and you both can now do more together, is that a bad thing? Now, let us look at it spiritually or let me say, Biblically, the woman is meant to be the help-meet. How will she be able to help if she has no income? With a strong foundation, it will never be a bad thing for the woman to have an income. Things have changed and most homes can no longer be sustained by one income. Women stepping up to take control of their finances is a win win for the family and for the society at large. This is because women are not only contributing to the income in their homes but also to the socio-economic development of Africa. The only time I always see this come up as an issue is when the men have a huge ego and cannot imagine women making their own decisions. This mindset is already a disaster waiting to happen. That man in particular will not only bully the woman, but will also abuse her financially, emotionally and maybe even physically, but this has nothing to do with the woman. It’s him. If it gets to this point, then he needs help. Women are human beings and should be treated with equal respect and should have access to equal opportunities.
What is your assessment of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, particularly small business owners, and how best do you think the government can support them?
Women entrepreneurs are doing amazingly well. One of the major challenges is funding and talent management. Government should be able to provide funding and a better business environment to enable the success of women.
You have a very impressive curriculum vitae and an even more impressive career progression. What more hurdles do you hope to scale and where do you see yourself in the next five years?
It’s funny that you say ‘impressive career progression’… I do not even see it like that at all. There was a time I was in the same position for years, even after entering the organisation as a young African talent from the United Kingdom. In the next few years, I would like to build the largest, most accessible and convenient Neobank that will make life softer for women globally. I like to call it a ‘Wakanda’ where women can thrive because they have it all.
What was it about your growing up years that may have significantly shaped you to be who you are today?
Seeing women I loved going through all they went through because they weren’t both financially literate and independent, broke me. I swore that it will never be me. I’m not near where I hope to be, but I am glad that as I am paving the way for myself in the world, I’m carrying thousands of other women with me. This is my life’s purpose.
What would you consider to be your greatest achievement in life and why?
I would say my greatest achievement in life is my ability to remain true to myself, no matter what life throws at me – an absolutely happy go-lucky girl who never gives up.
Looking back and how far you have come, is there anything you would have done differently?
Nope, nothing at all. I love my life. Looking back, every pain has been worth it.
You are also an author. What is your inspiration behind your literary work, Accessing Grants for Startups?
This is a funny question because I actually never ever wanted to write a book. It was never on my to-do list. I also never considered it to be a big deal till I wrote one and I got reactions from the world. I was honestly so confused because I didn’t think people would really rush to buy it the way they did. I only did it for my convenience. At the time, I knew a lot about grants and several opportunities and people kept on asking me questions about it. Naturally, I like to help people. So I wanted to do a one-off video to answer the questions people were asking me. The day I called the videographer to do the recording, I gave her my notes and she begged me to give it to her, that she really needed it. She would later advise me to turn it into an e-book. I had known her for years and had also supported her work. So I obliged her. I cleaned up the notes and turned it into an e-book, shared it with three friends and they were like, ‘Ife, this book is extremely valuable, please, turn it into a hardcover book that can be in schools.’ At this point, I was upset because I felt I was pushing my timelines. This was already two days to the launch of the book. We had already engaged a public relations company and all was set. But they convinced me. I withdrew the e-book, added two new chapters and I ended up having 191 pages of content I had typed all by myself. It all seemed like a dream, but here I am today. I wrote a book that is in the hands of over 10,000 people all over the world.
What life philosophy do you live by?
My philosophy in life is to ‘Do it Afraid’. Sometimes I get hurt in the process, loose a lot of money, but in the end, things always work out and I wonder why I was so scared in the first place.
You deviated from your course of study in school. Any particular reason why?
Oh! I was very young when I got into the university. I was very confused at the time about what I wanted to study. My Dad is a chemical engineer. So my mum picked out Chemical Engineering for me on the form when I was applying. I got in after two years. I knew I didn’t like it and if I continued, I would have failed woefully, mostly because I did not like Engineering Math. I loved Biology and Chemistry, so my next instinct was to change to Biochemistry which I studied at Covenant University. I also have an MBA in Global Business from Coventry University, United Kingdom. During my internship with May and Baker, I realised that even though I loved the theoretical part of the course, I didn’t enjoy it in practice. I didn’t enjoy laboratory work or mixing medicine or office work. I preferred building relationships, meeting people, branding, sales, etc. I did so many internships before I found what I really enjoyed doing. Today, my job doesn’t feel like work. I honestly enjoy what I do today and I’m grateful for all the learning on the way. Many don’t actually find what they really enjoy doing, not to talk of earning an income from it.
You wear many hats. Which is your favourite and why?
My favorite hat is being me – Ife Durosinmi-Etti. A kind human being making a positive impact in the life of whoever I come across.
How do you unwind?
I hang out with my family and friends. I swim, I dance. I’m extremely playful and I’m thankful that most times, my work feels like play.
Ife Durosinmi-Etti’s bio-data
She has broken several glass ceilings by being part of the Africa Startup Initiative (ASIP) Accelerator Programme and becoming a recruitment partner with Amazon. She is a recipient of the Women’s Advocacy Award from the West African Leadership Organisation for her exemplary leadership and dedication to socio-economic development in West Africa. An alumnus of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, she was named a Peace Scholar by the Dutch Ministry of foreign affairs and appointed as a Youth Advisory Group Member for Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE), a global coalition formed by the World Bank, aimed at providing catalytic support to employment and productive work for 150 million youth by 2030
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