About Road to Growth
- CONNECTION: Developing a vision for your business and identifying steps to achieve it.
- CONTEXT: Knowing your market, understanding business positioning.
- COMMUNICATION: Using digital marketing and e-commerce for business.
- CAPACITY: Analysing financial statements and improving profitability.
- CAPITAL: Developing a financing strategy that supports the growth plan for your business.
- CHARACTER: Managing financial relationships, knowing your rights and responsibilities.
- CONFIDENCE: Building the confidence to apply for financing.
The Road to Growth programme requires a commitment of 8-10 hours per week. This programme is most appropriate for women whose businesses are at the development and growth stage. The programme is not suitable for women running businesses at the start-up stage.
You can apply for Road to Growth if you:
● Own at least 50% of a business in Nigeria
● Have a business which has generated profit for at least 2 years
● Have 2-49 staff members
● Have an annual turnover of N3-20 million
● Have basic computer literacy
● Are able to read and write English
● Have a strong desire and commitment to grow your business
● Have had no previous access to loans and have a need for additional investment
● Business must be registered
Road to Growth’s unique curriculum
BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL SKILLS
Is tailored to meet the business development and financial literacy needs of women owners of small businesses.
NETWORKS
Equips women entrepreneurs with knowledge and skills to access capital and provides connections to financial institutions and peer entrepreneurs.
LEARNING JOURNEY
Offers a step-by-step “learning journey” towards increased confidence and capacities to succeed in business.
See what else participants have to say
Road to Growth has reached over 2,600 women across Nigeria, Mexico, Indonesia and Vietnam, and is now newly being rolled out in Guyana and Kenya.
Road to Growth is a tried, tested and highly successful programme for women entrepreneurs looking to take their existing businesses to the next level. The programme has lasting impacts for women entrepreneurs; enhancing their business knowledge and confidence, creating growth, developing their networks and increasing their preparedness to access to finance to take their businesses to the next level.
Almost all the women who took part in Road to Growth in Nigeria found the training useful, 90% grew their networks, 87% implemented new or improved methods, procedures or strategies for their business, and 75% increased their savings a year on.
Meanwhile of the women who participated in Road to Growth in Mexico, 100% gained a clearer vision and direction for their business, 98% became better at assessing their business’s financial health, 95% felt more confident in achieving a balance between business and family, and 98% valued the new business network they built through the programme.
Learn about the amazing journey of our Road to Growth Nigeria participants here:
Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women helps release the
potential of women entrepreneurs in low and middle income
countries, and close the global gender gap in entrepreneurship.
Since the Foundation’s inception in 2008, it has directly
supported over 175,000 women across more than 100 countries.
Through its combined approach of programmatic delivery and
advocacy, the Foundation supports women to start and grow
successful micro, small and medium businesses, with training,
technology, mentoring and networking at the heart of its work.
This opens doors to finance, markets, contacts and more, and
supports women to create better futures for themselves and
their families, enable their communities to prosper, contribute
to strong economies, and move the world in a whole new
direction.
ExxonMobil Foundation
Since 2005, the ExxonMobil Foundation has helped women in developing countries fulfil their economic potential and drive economic and social change in their communities.
Enterprise Development Centre
The Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University has the mission of providing holistic business development and support services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
EDC provides capacity building programmes and a variety of wrap-around services such as advisory services, mentoring, experts-in-residence, network meetings, access to market & information, implementation of organisational plans and more. To learn more, visit: www.pau.edu.ng