More than 300 women entrepreneurs from different parts of Cross River State have applied for business grants and other support opportunities at the African Women in Business Expo in Calabar.

The three-day expo was organised by She Means Business (SMB) in partnership with the Office of the Wife of the Cross River State Governor, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu.

The initiative is focused on connecting women entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, business knowledge and opportunities to access international markets.

She Means Business is a global community comprising more than 20,000 women entrepreneurs across 20 countries.

Mary Ekong, Founding Member and Head of Africa, said Cross River was selected for the expo because of the need to make business opportunities more accessible to women living outside Nigeria’s major commercial centres.

Ekong said women should not be required to move to Lagos or Abuja before gaining access to funding, mentorship and international business opportunities.

“We have over 300 applicants from different local governments across the state and it’s a process. Everyone will have a one-minute pitch and we will screen them,” she said.

She explained that more than half of the applicants are expected to benefit from at least one form of support, with different packages available under the programme.

Some entrepreneurs will receive cash grants between N100,000 and N500,000. Others will receive a one-year free subscription to the SMB app or secure admission into the organisation’s accelerator programme.

Ekong stressed that the programme is not focused exclusively on handing out money. Instead, she said it is intended to help women develop businesses capable of competing beyond their immediate communities.

She noted that access to global mentors and business networks could enable entrepreneurs in Cross River to serve customers outside Nigeria and earn foreign exchange without having to relocate.

“You can sit in the comfort of your bedroom in Calabar, with your sewing machine, and be sewing for people in the diaspora and earning in dollars. You don’t have to be in Lagos,” she said.

According to Ekong, mentorship and access to appropriate information remain major gaps for many women entrepreneurs.

She said numerous women already have business ideas and opportunities but require proper guidance, structure and funding to transform those opportunities into sustainable businesses.

“Most times women don’t lack options. What they lack is mentors and the right information,” she said.

The expo will include speakers, panel discussions and other business development activities intended to provide participants with practical business knowledge.

A major feature of the event will be an opportunity for one participant to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Global Women in Business Conference in Doha, Qatar, scheduled to take place from October 13 to 18.

In addition to the immediate grant opportunities, every participant will take part in an accelerator programme lasting between two and four weeks.

The programme is designed to strengthen the participating businesses, while additional grants will be awarded to eligible participants at the conclusion of the accelerator.

The initiative therefore combines financial assistance with business development support, mentorship and networking opportunities aimed at helping women entrepreneurs strengthen their business structures and establish connections that can provide access to new markets.

For women-owned businesses in Cross River, the expo offers access to resources that may otherwise be difficult to obtain locally, while also positioning the state as a potential hub for women-led entrepreneurship and innovation.

Source: MSME Africa Online