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To celebrate International Women’s Day, Stallion- Bajaj Auto Keke Ltd. hosted its staff and special guests to an event that featured a keynote address and a panel discussion exploring women empowerment through skills development and entrepreneurship.
Speakers at the event included Mrs. Nkoli Ify Ogbolu, Chairperson of the International Women’s Society Skills Centre, Lekki, (2015- 2017) & President of International Women’s Society (2019 – Feb 2020), who gave the keynote address, and panelists – Mojuola Morowomubo, Dealer, Stallion-Bajaj Auto Keke; Mrs. Adesida, Fleet Owner, Stallion-Bajaj Auto Keke; Ireayomide Oladunjoye, Executive Assistant to the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) and Ifeoma Uddoh, Founder Shecluded.
The speakers brought their wealth of experience, and knowledge offering valuable insights on starting a business, accessing funding, scaling, training, designing and implementing a skills acquisition programme.
“This year’s theme “Choose to Challenge’‘ is a call to action for all companies to wake up and challenge the stereotypes. It is a reminder to ask ourselves, how can we do better? We understand that skills development programs open up new opportunities for women, formally educated or not and this is the reason why we began our training school for female assemblers, riders and mechanics, with a goal to train over 500 female technicians by 2022,” Mr. Manish Rohtagi, MD Stallion-Bajaj Auto Keke Ltd, explained.
Mrs Nkoli Obi Ogbolu, during her keynote speech, said, “In trying to end poverty concerted efforts should be made for the inclusion of women as a key factor in the value chain. This is why I applaud the goal of Stallion- Bajaj to train female mechanics, assemblers and riders.”
During the insightful panel discussion moderated by Ife Ajagbe, Ifeoma Uddoh, Founder, Shecluded, commenting on the ability for women-owned business to scale, said : “A lot of women do not scale their businesses and have no information on how to take their business to the next level. Scaling a business involves a financial burden and women find it difficult to get funding which hinders growth trajectory.
The Shecluded boss added: “It is also important for women to learn to delegate, as a business owner your number one goal after success is creating a company that can run without you. The understanding of when your business is ripe for scaling and the ability to delegate will set you up for success.”
The panel discussion ended with words of encouragement from Mrs. Adesida, a Keke fleet owner, who said: “Do not be afraid to do more, do not be afraid to learn. When starting a business, it is important to understand the intricacies.”
According to Adesida, “When I started, I had no idea what parts made up the Keke and this set me a few steps back, but I started to learn and that’s how my business grew to where it is today. Never give up!”
The event came to a close with remarks by the Head of HR, Mrs. Adenike Adeniyi, reaffirming Stallion- Bajaj’s mission to significantly increase its female representation by 35% by 2022.
This month, Stallion-Bajaj celebrates women all around the world as we choose to challenge ourselves as an organisation to continuously act on our commitment to gender equality.
