WIMBIZ empowers 250 Lagos schoolgirls

No fewer than 250 secondary school girls from Lagos City College in Yaba, Lagos State, have gained financial literacy skills through the Big Sister Programme, an initiative of the Women in Management, Business, and Public Service.

The soft skills initiative, held simultaneously on Friday at two secondary schools —Lagos City College and Wesley Girls College in Yaba— was designed for girls aged 14 to 18 to boost their confidence and instil the belief that they can achieve anything they set their minds to.

The Executive Director of WIMBIZ, Omowummi Akingbohungbe, described the initiative as an exciting, interactive, and educational programme to help school girls navigate their life journeys.

She said, “We chose to step back and create the Big Sister Programme to engage girls at a younger age, inspiring them by introducing them to older sisters who have experienced similar challenges and are now in various leadership roles.

“These big sisters also serve as our facilitators, sharing their wealth of knowledge in alignment with the curriculum we have designed for the programme.”

Also speaking, Chairman of the WIMBIZ Big Sister Programme 2024, Folake Adama, stated that the female-led non-profit organisation partnered with Junior Achievement Nigeria to empower and inspire the girls.

She noted that the goal was to encourage the participants to dream big for their future, build self-confidence, and strengthen their belief in themselves.

She said, “We realised that developing soft and life skills can significantly enhance their chances of becoming leaders, often more quickly than expected.

“One key insight we’ve gained, even from those attending other schools, is that it’s these life skills and soft skills—those aspects not covered in academics—that truly propel individuals into leadership roles.”

One of the beneficiaries, Mercy Akiya, a national robotics competition winner, said she was “inspired to learn more about financial literacy and feel empowered to be more ambitious.”

“This programme has encouraged me to see myself as a change-maker and to challenge the idea of male dominance in the workplace by striving to be the best I can be.

“I need to improve my self-confidence and self-esteem through the Big Sister Programme,” she said.