African Business Stories (ABS) has launched a landmark Scale-Ready Bootcamp in Lagos, offering major scale-up opportunities to female business owners and strengthening a new generation of women-led enterprises across Nigeria and beyon
Empowering Female Entrepreneurs With Practical Scale-Up Skills
Held on 7 November 2025, the Bootcamp followed a high-level morning Roundtable hosted at Microsoft Nigeria under the theme “Positioning for Scale in Nigeria and Beyond.” Policymakers, financiers, and industry leaders — including Hon. Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem of the Lagos State Government; Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, MFR; officials from the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment; Afreximbank; Microsoft West Africa; and key private-sector players — gathered to review real challenges faced by female business owners looking to scale in Africa.
The ABS Scale Ready Bootcamp selected 20 women-led businesses operating in manufacturing, agrifood, logistics, technology, services, and consumer goods. Participants received hands-on learning across four pillars critical for business expansion: Digital Readiness, Finance Readiness, Trade Readiness under AfCFTA, and Founder Readiness.
Building Scale-Ready, Fundable Women-Led Enterprises
ABS Founder Akaego Okoye highlighted that the Bootcamp directly implements insights shared during the Roundtable. She noted that structural barriers limit growth for many female business owners, and real progress requires stronger digital, financial, and trade capabilities — which the program actively provides.
Hon. Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem reaffirmed Lagos State’s commitment to supporting women-led MSMEs with financing, export support, and job creation. She described women entrepreneurs as “critical to Lagos’ economic engine.” Afreximbank’s Ody Akhanoba also emphasized the importance of investment readiness, while Mr. Gbenga Oyebode stressed the need for policy alignment and institutional partnerships supporting success stories in Africa.
Strategic Partners Strengthening Business Growth
Facilitators from Shecluded, Afreximbank, the AfCFTA Secretariat, and Data Science Nigeria (DSN) delivered training sessions on investment readiness, export certification, digital optimization, and data-driven business operations. The Bootcamp received strong support from Microsoft Nigeria, LSETF, Afreximbank, DSN, and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
Okoye said, “Lagos is the beginning. We are building a visible pipeline of export-ready, digital-ready African women founders positioned for investment and cross-border expansion.”
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This story was first reported by African Media Agency (AMA). Read the full article here.
