The Love for Change Women Foundation (LCWF) held its inaugural EmpowerHER Entrepreneurship Workshop, bringing together young businesswomen for what organisers described as a transformational day of clarity, confidence and community. The event equipped participants with skills, structure and capital needed to build sustainable businesses while encouraging them to move beyond survival mode and begin building ventures that can outlive them.
Founder of LCWF, Modupeola Bello Olukoya, said the initiative was created to empower women with tools that lead to financial independence and generational stability. “As women, having a consistent source of income is essential because it gives you the freedom to make empowered decisions,” she said.
“We want young women to build sustainable, well-structured businesses and be financially independent. This workshop helped them reflect, refine their ideas and build with clarity and intentionality.” She added that watching participants leave with sharpened business plans “reminded us why this work matters,” noting that “this isn’t just about a workshop. We are building a movement of women who support each other, share their resources and rise together.”
The workshop featured keynote speaker Olamitoyosi Babatunde, who urged participants to break out of short-term thinking. “The goal is for these women to move from thinking about sustenance to thinking about legacy,” she said. “Make money, keep the money, grow it and reinvest it. If we talk about generational curses, then we must also decide to be generational blessings.” Babatunde highlighted that Nigerian women were already demonstrating resilience and innovation. “It is rare today to find a Nigerian woman sitting idle,” she said. “Women work hard, and a woman can make her own money without doing anything underhand. Men should not feel threatened.”
She also called on government to remove structural barriers that limit women’s autonomy. “There are laws and practices that still require a man’s approval for a woman to make certain decisions—even to rent an apartment,” she said. “The environment must be conducive if women are truly to thrive.”
Workshop coordinator, Bukola Adeyemi, explained that the programme was designed to go beyond basic training by also offering capital support. “This is not just another programme,” she said. “Many women have businesses but lack the tools to transfer these businesses to their children. We want them to move from hustle to legacy.”
Adeyemi announced that LCWF, working with partners including BLGN, provided grants to 10 women amounting to more than N500,000. “The Mama BC recipients are taking home N50,000 each, while the Tomi category receives N100,000 because of their potential to leverage technology,” she explained. She added that the foundation would follow up on all beneficiaries to ensure growth and accountability.
Guest Mentor Iyene Adasa encouraged participants to stay structured and determined. “Beyond starting a side hustle, you can grow it into a legacy business,” she said. “Challenges are not designed to break you; they are there to build you.”
For many attendees, the training offered clarity and immediate action points. Fashion designer Zabiola Digbite said the workshop addressed her biggest business issue. “I had issues managing staff, and the speaker nailed it,” she said. “I will start applying what I learnt immediately.”
Another participant, Kelly, a bag designer, said the event reshaped her mindset about legacy building. “I used to think my daughter was too small to learn anything, but now I know she must see what I do,” she said. “I want to grow from sewing alone to owning a shop and employing people.”
The workshop followed LCWF’s eight-week virtual EmpowerHER Bootcamp, which trained women in digital entrepreneurship, branding and marketing. Outstanding participants from the virtual programme also received business-support grants, further strengthening the foundation’s commitment to practical empowerment.
Since its founding in 2014, LCWF has focused on breaking inter-generational poverty by equipping marginalised women with skills, training and community backing to build stable futures. Stakeholders say the workshop’s mix of training, mentorship and funding reflects a major step toward building a new generation of women-led legacy businesses across Nigeria.
In 2025, LCWF also ran its second InnovatHER STEM Bootcamp, enrolling over 200 girls from Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Benue, Kaduna, Anambra, Oyo and Kwara. The programme offered training in coding, robotics, data analytics, soft skills and problem solving, giving young Nigerian women the digital and entrepreneurial skills needed for sustainable futures.
The foundation publicly condemned the technology-access gap for girls in underserved communities, saying the lack of STEAM opportunities is “stifling their potential as future innovators and leaders.” The founder noted that hands-on training in robotics, Python programming and design is helping bridge this divide and build what she called “future-ready, purpose-driven” young women.
