WIMBIZ wins AXA ‘Empower Women’ contest 

AXA Mansard Insurance, a leading non-bank financial service group has announced Women in Management, Business and Public Service (popularly known as WIMBIZ), as the winner of the 2016 AXA Empower Women Contest where WIMBIZ won the sum of 10,000 Euros as the cash prize for the contest.

AXA Empower Women contest is one of the numerous women-focused initiatives by AXA. The contest was borne out of the need to empower women entrepreneurs across the AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM region, to grow and succeed in their businesses, in order to care for and protect their families and ultimately impact the economies of their various countries. To celebrate the International Women’s Day, a call was made from AXA to employees within the region to nominate Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) sponsored projects benefiting women in the community for the ‘Empower Women’ regional contest.

The winning project, WIMBIZ Capacity Building Project (WIMCAP) was one of the entries submitted by AXA Mansard. WIMCAP is designed to equip women entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the skills and tools for building sustainable businesses that will create jobs and attract investment.

Speaking at the award presentation ceremony, the Chairperson, Executive Council of WIMBIZ, Aishah Ahmad, said “We are grateful to AXA for the recognition and funds as we strive to positively impact the Nigerian woman”.

Commenting further, Aishah Ahmad said “Over the years, a recurring challenge amongst women in Nigeria has been how businesses headed by women would gain access to finance, especially at startups. To solve this challenge, WIMBIZ developed WIMCAP to equip female entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge to grow their businesses in a sustainable manner”.

According to her, WIMBIZ’s has over 5,000 women on its database and has impacted over 20,000 women through its various programs.

While congratulating WIMBIZ, the CEO of AXA Mansard, Yetunde Ilori said, “The management and staff of AXA Mansard are pleased that WIMBIZ won the keenly contested competition where a number of initiatives were considered from 21 countries. With the cash price, WIMBIZ would be able to execute its initiatives on WIMCAP and help better alleviate the financial skills of the Nigerian Woman”.

Reiterating AXA’s commitment to creating a positive impact within its communities, the Head of Communications and Corporate Responsibility, AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM, Clara Rodrigo said “Women today are taking charge, excelling at university, starting innovative businesses and taking care of their communities; AXA wants to ensure they are protected along the way. We are proud of supporting WIMBIZ and empowering Nigerian women”.