Skip to main content

She Leads Africa

Join Our Tribe

Category: Community Impact

Training Was Just the Beginning: How SLA Is Building a Placement Engine for Nigerian Women

A Q1 Year 2 Progress Report on the BoostHer Program, a Partnership Between She Leads Africa and Jobberman By Samson Arowobusoye, Job Matching Consultant | September 2026 Year 1 of the BoostHer Program proved that Nigerian women, given the right skills and the right support, will seize economic opportunity without hesitation. 13,709 women trained. 2,750 income improvements recorded before the year was out. Two pathways, one professional and one entrepreneurial, each delivering measurable results within the same calendar year as training. The model worked. But training alone was never the complete answer. A woman who has been trained still needs a door to walk through. She needs an employer who sees her potential, a business opportunity she can fund, a job opening she can actually find, and a support system that stays with her after the course ends. The central question Year 2 set out to answer was not whether SLA could train women at scale. That question had already been answered. The question was whether SLA could build the infrastructure to place them. Between February and May 2026, the first quarter of Year 2, the BoostHer Program recorded 5,005 placements across all outcome categories. This report documents how that happened, what events drove it, what stood in the way, and what the rest of Year 2 demands. 5,005 Q1 Y2 Placements Recorded 40+ Active Employer Partners 15,000 Year 2 Placement Target Building the Placement Engine One of the most significant structural investments in Year 2 was in the employer partnership network. Where Year 1 focused heavily on training delivery and initial partner onboarding, Year 2 doubled down on converting those relationships into live hiring pipelines. Five new active employer partners were onboarded in Q1, bringing the total count to over 40. Beyond formal onboarding, the more telling development was inbound employer demand. Multiple companies approached SLA directly, requesting access to the talent pool. That shift, from SLA seeking employers to employers seeking SLA’s community, signals a maturation in the program’s market credibility. The placement methodology SLA uses is structured and deliberate. When a role becomes available through a partner, SLA creates a tailored application form, shares the opportunity with the talent community, reviews all responses, and forwards shortlisted candidate profiles to the hiring organisation. Where partners request it, SLA also handles the scheduling and facilitation of first-round interviews, with follow-up maintained throughout and after the hiring process. Partners receive pre-engaged, SLA-trained candidates. Talents receive guided access to verified opportunities they might otherwise never find. The result is a managed talent pipeline, not a passive job board. “We believe your community of talented, ambitious women may include individuals who are a great fit for these positions. Thank you for the incredible work you do in empowering women across Africa.” Saidat Shittu, HR Manager, Chow Noodle Bar The message from Saidat Shittu at Chow Noodle Bar, a pan-Asian dining brand operating across Victoria Island, Osapa London, and Lekki, is illustrative of a broader pattern. Employers are not just tolerating the BoostHer talent pool. They are actively seeking it out, recognising in SLA’s community a concentration of trained, motivated, and professionally credentialed women that is difficult to find through conventional recruitment channels. That is not a coincidence. It is the result of consistent investment in participant quality and community trust. The BoostHer Career and Trade Fair: Placement in Real Time On the 2nd of May 2026, SLA hosted the BoostHer Career and Trade Fair, a live, in-person placement event that brought together recruiters, vendors, and trained talents in one space. The fair was not just a celebration of Year 1 outcomes. It was a working placement mechanism, and the results reflected that. 27 Recruiters Present 260+ Talents Shortlisted by Organisations 24 Gigs Activated at the Fair 16 Vendors from Pool Who Made Sales Twenty-seven recruiters were present on the day, representing organisations actively looking to hire. More than 260 female talents were shortlisted by different organisations directly at the event. Twenty-four gigs were activated by participants during the fair itself, and 16 vendors from the SLA talent pool made direct product or service sales on the day. The outcomes from the fair are included within the 5,005 Q1 placement figures, meaning these were not supplementary results. They were part of the core count, delivered in a single day. The fair demonstrated something important about the placement model SLA is building. When trained, prepared women are placed in the same room as employers and buyers who are actively looking, outcomes happen quickly. The bottleneck in placement is rarely talent quality. It is access. The Career and Trade Fair exists to eliminate that bottleneck in the most direct way possible. The Numbers: Q1 Placements in Full The 5,005 placements recorded between February and May 2026 span five distinct outcome categories, reflecting the dual-pathway structure of the program. Professional Pathway outcomes account for 1,641 of the total: 1,379 women secured new jobs and 262 received promotions or salary increases. Entrepreneurial Pathway outcomes account for the remaining 3,295: 2,400 women recorded revenue increases or sales growth traceable to their BoostHer training, 641 secured paid freelance gigs, and 254 launched new businesses entirely. Taken together, these figures represent 33.4% of SLA’s 15,000 placement target for the full year, delivered in the first quarter alone. The pace is ahead of schedule and the pipeline is active. 1,379 New Jobs Secured 641 Gigs Secured 262 Promotions & Salary Increases 2,400 Revenue Increase / Sales 254 New Businesses Started All placement data was collected through structured participant feedback, meaning the figures represent outcomes that women voluntarily reported and attributed to the program. The true number of income improvements across the talent pool is almost certainly higher. Not every participant responds to follow-up. Not every win gets reported. What SLA tracks is a verified floor, not a ceiling. Beyond Job Matching: A Full Ecosystem of Support Placement at scale requires more than connecting women to open roles. It requires keeping the talent pool engaged, informed, growing, and financially empowered between training

Call for Nominations: Celebrating Africa’s Next Generation of Women Leaders

Across Africa, a powerful movement is unfolding. Young women are building businesses, leading teams, creating solutions, and reshaping industries — often without the recognition they deserve. These women are proving that leadership has no age limit and that impact can begin early. At She Leads Africa, we believe it is essential to intentionally celebrate and amplify women who are still growing, building, and becoming. That is why, in honour of International Women’s Day 2025, we are launching the Top 50 Under 30 Rising Motherland Moguls — a list dedicated to recognising outstanding young African women who are already making a meaningful difference. Why Celebrating Growing African Women Matters Too often, women are told to wait — wait until they are older, more established, more visible, or more “successful” before their work is celebrated. But growth deserves recognition too. By spotlighting women in the early and mid-stages of their careers and businesses, we: Celebrating growing African women is not just about applause — it’s about creating pathways, confidence, and community. When young women see themselves reflected in success stories, it expands what they believe is possible. About the Top 50 Rising Motherland Moguls The Top 50 Under 30 Rising Motherland Moguls list recognizes African women under 30 who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and impact through their work. These women are founders, co-founders, and career trailblazers who are: They are not just future leaders — they are leading now. Who Can Be Nominated? We welcome nominations from all industries, including STEM, finance, education, media, oil and gas, marketing, content creation, business, and more. Impact knows no sector, and excellence exists everywhere. To be eligible, nominees must: You may nominate yourself or nominate another deserving woman Join Us in Celebrating Excellence This initiative is a call to the community — to look around, pay attention, and uplift the women who are quietly and boldly doing the work. It is an invitation to celebrate progress, courage, and vision. If you know a young African woman who is breaking barriers, creating change, and building something meaningful, now is the time to honour her story. The deadline for nominations is January 30th, 2026. Let’s tell the stories of women who are rising — not someday, but now. Nominate today and help us celebrate Africa’s next generation of women leaders

From a Spark of Passion to a Global Creative Movement: The Story of For Creative Girls

When Gbemi Lolade first started For Creative Girls, she didn’t imagine it would grow into the vibrant, global community it is today. At the beginning, it wasn’t about building a company or leading a movement. It was simply about sharing her excitement for women whose creative work inspired her. She would find women doing brilliant, bold things and think: the world needs to see this. That spark—a passion for amplifying voices that often went unheard—became the seed for For Creative Girls. A Passion Project with Global Footprints What began as a personal project in 2017 quickly caught fire. Over the years, For Creative Girls has hosted mentorship programs that have reached women across multiple countries and continents. Participants from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, the UK, France, and beyond have been part of the journey, connecting through shared stories, guidance, and collaboration. This global footprint didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of consistency, belief, and a community that kept showing up. From the early days of writing features to curating mentorship opportunities, Gbemi has watched the platform expand in ways that surprised even her. Tools for Today’s Creatives As For Creative Girls enters a new chapter, Gbemi is clear about one thing: it’s not about chasing trends or positioning the brand as a “tech-first” company. Instead, it’s about asking: how can we support creatives better in their day-to-day work? That question recently led to the creation of a custom GPT inside ChatGPT—digital assistants designed specifically for creatives. It basically helps improve creative portfolios, guiding users on structure, presentation, and storytelling. They’re not meant to replace human connection or mentorship; rather, they extend the heart of For Creative Girls into the digital space, giving creatives accessible tools at their fingertips. As Gbemi explains: “We’re not an AI company. We’re just experimenting with how new technologies can serve our community.” It’s a grounded, thoughtful approach to innovation. With this and more flagship programs coming up, For Creative Girls continues to focus on what has always mattered most: people, creativity, and community. The Heart of the Work Ask Gbemi what keeps her going, and she’ll tell you—it’s the stories. The stories of women who thought their work didn’t matter until it was seen. The stories of mentees who found confidence, clarity, or career direction after connecting through the platform. The stories of friendships and collaborations that never would have existed otherwise. These are the wins that keep For Creative Girls alive; the human heartbeat beneath the programs, articles, and now, tools. What’s Next Looking ahead, Gbemi is both reflective and hopeful. She knows For Creative Girls has come a long way from its humble beginnings, but in her words: “We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible.” The next chapter isn’t about becoming a tech giant or redefining creativity on a global stage. It’s about continuing to be a safe space where women creatives can grow, be seen, and be supported, no matter where they are in the world. Because at its core, For Creative Girls has never stopped being what it was at the start: one woman’s passion for shining a light on others, now multiplied, magnified, and carried forward by a global sisterhood.

#HowWeSpent2020: Zimbabwean start-up teaches women how to farm in pandemic

While this year has been challenging for most, we’re spotlighting non-profits and social enterprises that have worked hard to continue making an impact despite the added challenges that 2020 brought. If a story connects with you, please support the organization and founders in this series. Be part of our community of outstanding women by joining She Leads Africa today. ABOUT CHASHI FOODS (ZIMBABWE) Most people know that global hunger is a pressing issue — but what you may not know is that food waste is equally concerning. Food wasted every year in the continent could feed up to 300 million people, according to the United Nations. In just Uganda alone, up to 40% of fruit and vegetables end up being discarded. Post-harvest losses have a negative impact on the environment as food decay releases methane, which is 28 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, and is associated with global climate change.  However, where many would see a problem, Chashi Foods saw an opportunity.  “Much of what’s sold in markets is wasted because farmers cannot store the food. So they have to return home and pick fresh fruit and vegetables to sell the next day. During the dry season very little grows so people go hungry. Moreso due to strict government-mandated measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus we could potentially spark food shortages around the country.” – Forget (Product Development Director) Chashi Foods is committed to providing sustainable solutions in reducing food loss. By the use of smart technologies and agro-processing, Chashi Foods has been able to increase the shelf life of farm produce. But their mandate goes further, coining them the three P’s, Chashi Foods concentrates on people, planet, and profit. By helping farmers prolong their product shelf life they have managed to increase their income per capita. More nutritious food will be available to rural and urban dwellers, especially children as they can eat the dried produce. Their main target is to hire mainly women to manage the operations and collection of revenue at Chashi stations. All the while stopping food waste will be beneficial to the planet.   DEALING WITH THE MARKET MAFIAS & COVID-19 Just before the COVID-19 lockdown started in Harare, Forget had been in a plight to eliminate intermediaries or market mafias from the supply. The market mafias have garnered a reputation to buy produce from the farmers at a very low price and then exorbitantly sell them to the consumers.  However, as the lockdown was imposed their focus had to shift. Suddenly, they had no product to buy as the rural farmers found it hard to commute to the city center. But their call to action was even stronger as farmers’ harvested produce went to waste since large markets were closed. Eventually, Chashi too had to close their production and their impact seemingly came to a halt. Beyond buying from rural farmers, Chashi continued to support farmers by providing mentorship and training in post-harvest management and agribusiness. During the Covid19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown period, they trained over 100 farmers in post-harvest management and helped reduce over 5 tons of produce from being lost.  Forget shared a beautiful success story of a female farmer in Guruve, a small village center in the North of Zimbabwe. “After receiving our training manual, this lady was able to dry about 300kgs of tomato harvest which she sold to the local hotel. I haven’t met her personally but she’s come to refer to me as family. That’s what we are aiming to do at Chashi – improving people’s livelihoods.” As it became apparent that the pandemic would drag on for long, Shareka looked for new avenues of selling their products. As you might guess, the top of the agenda had been gravitating to selling items online and getting them delivered to doorsteps. While this sounds easy in theory, it brought all sorts of challenges. Professional storefront to be built, photography to be taken, secure payment methods, delivery drivers and transport, and getting the message out there that they’re virtually open for business is not an easy job. So Chashi came up with an easier plan, they leveraged already existing platforms like Facebook and Whatsapp.  “The pandemic has only enhanced the need for more supply chain resiliency, and for us to make the most of the food that is being produced, disseminated, and purchased not only in Africa but throughout the world.” – Forget Shareka ADJUSTING TO MAKE IMPACT IN A GLOBAL PANDEMIC “We created a WhatsApp group in which we were facilitating the selling of farmers’ produce. We identified a common hotspot of activity and traffic in the city, and then created a meeting point for farmers to sell their products and push volumes. We did this free of charge and it was fulfilling seeing the weight we lifted off their shoulders.”  The nearly instantaneous economic recession triggered by the COVID-19 shutdown has wreaked havoc on businesses large and small. For Chashi what has kept them going is reploughing all their sales proceeds into the business towards operational expenses which include salaries and maintenance of their machinery.  Forget testifies that the pandemic has taught her and the organization an important lesson in resilience. The pandemic now presents additional challenges for managing mental health and other economic challenges. Loss and suffering may change a person, but much will influence its trajectory, including biological, environmental, behavioral, and psychological components. “Any life stressor, to some degree, is out of our control. How long will the pandemic last? When can we go back to school? To work? All valid questions, but they are also unknowns and uncertainties; we don’t want to get stuck ruminating about them,” says Forget. Lastly, Shareka made a warm invitation. Women constitute nearly 50% of the agricultural workforce and own one-third of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, they are a key pillar of Africa’s food systems. As the challenges related to COVID-19 come into force in various countries, women’s livelihoods and business

#HowWeSpent2020: From water weeds to artisan products

While this year has been challenging for most, we’re spotlighting non-profits and social enterprises that have worked hard to continue making an impact despite the added challenges that 2020 brought. If a story connects with you, please support the organization and founders in this series. Be part of our community of outstanding women by joining She Leads Africa today. In a bid to deal with the abundance of invasive water hyacinth plants clogging up local waterways, Nigerian entrepreneur Achenyo Idachaba-Obaro founded Mitimeth, a startup not only improving environmental sustainability but also producing beautifully-handcrafted artisan products.  Where others saw a pest, Idachaba-Obaro saw an opportunity Water hyacinth, she explains, is a species of aquatic plant with violet flowers. It looks attractive, but this invasive weed is actually horribly destructive to the communities along the rivers where it grows in thick mats. The plant keeps fishermen from reaching the fish and students and others from traveling on weed-choked waterways. It may look pretty, but it’s actually devastating to a whole way of life. Water hyacinth at first appears to be an utterly worthless invader, something that just needs to be ripped out and thrown away. But Idachaba had other ideas.  Working with local communities, MitiMeth takes water hyacinth, an evasive destructive weed, and upcycles it into personal and interior accessories.  “We are making this product in Nigeria, and we are making a product that has global appeal.” — Achenyo Idachaba-Obaro In the face of this global pandemic, Achenyo had to take immediate action by protecting the level of the impact of her organization. Achenyo shut down operations way before the local authorities imposed the lockdown.  The next step was assuring her employees that she would do everything in her power to keep them employed, “we’ll make it through this together” she said. Immediately she could see the positive change it sparked within their attitudes as they knew they had one less thing to worry about, contrary to the tales they heard from their mates and neighbors who had been furloughed.  Not all hope was lost The government in Nigeria went on to close state borders and introduce other aggressive responses to COVID-19 in the form of travel bans. This heavily interrupted the supply chain of Mitimeth. On the environmental level, Mitimeth continued to make an impact as their artisans continued to harvest the water hyacinth for weaving. However, the products could not make their way to the main production hub.  “If there’s one silver lining from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that it’s helped expose vulnerabilities in their supply chain” – Achenyo mentioned. At present, there is less demand for their products since home decor and accessories are hardly seen as an essential service. “We see this problem trickling down the supply chain. So we find ourselves with a warehouse full of raw materials because we made a commitment to our artisans that we would take all their products”, Achenyo said.  Instead of seeing it as a setback, they took this time to do some much-needed R&D and they’re currently exploring the possibility of using the water hyacinth as a textile. “Since most people are sheltering in place, we have seen the consumers’ affinity towards wanting to make their outdoor spaces more appealing. And so we have been afforded the opportunity to expand our outdoor and garden collection”. New ideas are also brought into the communities MitiMeth works with. MitiMeth essentially provides distribution platforms for the community and match up the appropriate skills with the products to be created. The company provides training for communities the company works with through collaborations and partnerships within the public-private sector. This involves running workshops, held within the communities to understand how things work.  “Funding definitely has been a challenge this year for the organizations that we partner with. So we are seeing some reductions in the number of training we do. But I think the important thing is keeping the momentum going. And I’m glad that with one partner that we’re working with, in the next two weeks we’re going full steam ahead with the training despite the situation that we’re in right now.” Achenyo adds. One of the challenges the organization faces is they’re unable to hold the training using online tools since the communities they work with are reside in network-deficient areas. “Perhaps in the future, there could be the provision of smartphones which can enable remote learning along with the training seminars for the artisans.” Most of the funds Mitimeth gets are plowed back into the business, having more than 150 artisans and a commitment to procure their products, nocent goes to waste. They also have to take care of the operational costs of the business including shipping and wages.  Due to the drastic drop in sales, Achenyo had to ensure that they maintained sustainable financing by making good use of their cash reserves from previous years. “A big lesson this year taught us was it’s important to save for famine during the seasons of abundance.” Hard work certainly pays off as Mitimeth was able to open a new branch in Lagos on the 21st of June. “It’s been tough, but we certainly don’t regret making that decision. So we still grow even during this time”, she said. Achenyo went on to invite other women on her journey. “They can support what we’re doing, by purchasing our products, knowing that with each purchase, they’re actually supporting a fellow African woman or a fellow African youth, and it is going back into the economy, it’s going back to help people fulfill their obligations.” There is a United Nations Environmental Programme Map, which illustrates where water hyacinth is prevalent in different parts of the world. If you look at the map of Africa, 44 countries have this infestation problem. Achenyo makes a call for action that if other women can replicate this business model and solution in several other countries, the impact would be amazing to those communities most affected by it. If you would

Ingressive For Good is Impacting the Lives of Women in Tech all over Africa

Stella Fii had always wanted to learn more about programming and coding, but she never really had the resources and time to take courses. This year, Stella went to visit her brother in Kaduna after writing her JAMB exams and then he told her about Ingressive For Good (I4G), a nonprofit equipping young Africans in need with tech skills to help them impact and contribute to the development of Africa, socially and economically. She inquired and found out about the I4G Coursera program; Ingressive for Good had partnered with Coursera, the world’s leading online learning platform to offer scholarships to 5000+ African youths in tech to help them develop high-demand skills in technology, personal development, and career development. It also provided access to over 4000+ courses and highly sought-after professional certificates like the Google IT Support Professional Certificate from leading universities such as Yale, Michigan, and Stanford, as well as industry leaders such as Google and IBM, designed to train people with no tech background for IT jobs. She took courses in programming in less than 2 weeks, she was able to code a landing page from scratch. This skill has not only opened a new earning opportunity for her but has inspired her to pursue a formal tech education and career. Another woman, Folashade Fapohunda, worked in a hospital as an accountant but COVID19 cases started to increase and she was at risk. The hospital closed down and she lost her job. She casually picked up an interest in Graphic design. That was when she came across the I4G. Folashade enrolled in the Coursera design courses. These courses gave her the confidence she needed to start freelancing and so far, she has had over 3 paying design clients, with payments worth more than her salary as an accountant. True to their promise, Ingressive for Good is impacting Africa and the economy. Two key indicators of a country’s GDP are the economic power of citizens and the percentage of gainfully employed youth. However, 30% of African youth are unemployed. Ingressive For Good (I4G) is looking to change that with their mission to increase the earning power of African youths through tech training, job placement, and community.  In the last 3 months, I4G has aided the training of over 20,000 African youth, built a community of over 17,000 youths, provided tech tools and resources for over 10,000, and placed over 100 in jobs. “The I4G community collectively has the strategy, the network, and most importantly, the passion to actually change Africa.” Sean Burrowes, the COO and Cofounder of Ingressive for Good said. “The more our community grows, the less I4G feels like a charitable foundation. It feels more like a Pan-African talent development revolution, powered by Africa’s tech-enabled youth.” With collaboration at the heart of Ingressive For Good, is impacting the lives of Africans, one youth at a time. During this pilot phase, I4G partnered with Coursera, Facebook, Datacamp, HNG, SemiColon, Tekedia, CareerBuddy, FindWorka, Live Your Dreams, Covenant University, StudentBuild, Bankole Williams, and so many amazing organizations to reach the Africans in need and provide training, scholarships, job placements.  “Ingressive For Good has not only distributed the most licenses of all of DataCamp’s Giveaway Partners so far, but their learners’ adoption and engagement levels on the platform are some of the highest as well. This exemplifies the enormous impact a nonprofit run by caring and talented people can have on communities big and small, local, and abroad.” Nathaniel Taylor-Leach, Community Partnerships Manager at Datacamp, the leading interactive learning platform for data science and analytics. “Folashade’s success story is one of many young Africans who have been impacted through one or more of the Ingressive For Good programs. Many have gotten access to courses that were cumulatively worth thousands of dollars for free” – Blessing Abeng, Director of Communications at Ingressive for Good. Watch the success story of Christabel Omuboye, another woman in the I4G network and one of the I4G x HNG Internship finalists who received new MacBooks from Ingressive for Good to help her improve their tech skills. She has transformed from selling soap to support herself into a programming whiz ready for a tech career: In the last 3 months, I4G has surpassed its pilot goals in tremendous ways. This is the impact so far: View the full report here. To benefit from other Ingressive For Good Opportunities, join the I4G Network of over 17,000 tech enthusiasts across 55 cities across Africa. To join I4G on this mission to increase the earning power of African youths and eradicate poverty from Africa, send an email to hello@ingressive.org and Follow @ingressive4good on social media to stay updated. About Ingressive For Good Ingressive For Good (I4G) is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and increasing the earning power of African youth through tech training and resources.  For more info, partnership, or donation, contact: Blessing Abeng, Director of Communications, Ingressive for Good on communications@ingressive.co Find out more about Ingressive For Good here.

kokobet lebull casino lucky 7 casino neon54