Union Bank of Nigeria has thrown it weight behind the Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) initiative tagged Leadership, Empowerment, Achievement, and Development Camp for 50 girls in the 6th edition of the 2016 programme, in Nigeria.
The 50 girls drawn from across various regions of Nigeria in public and private schools will be given the opportunity to learn from seasoned industry practitioners in leadership, media and economy amongst other segments of life.
This year programme kicks off today 17th July 2016 , in Lagos and will last till July 23rd, 2016.
According to the Director of in-school Programmes, Adaeze Oputa, the mission of LEAD Camp is to empower and inspire young girls to becoming high-achieving women leaders. This addresses social development goal (SDG) 5, which talks about gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.
“The participants are taken through series of activities administered by HOD Consulting and supported by leading women from the private and public sectors in Nigeria, serving as mentors,” Oputa said, adding that the majority of participants, who come from various parts of the country, are public school students who may never get such opportunity in their lives.
“We are grateful to Union Bank and HOD Consulting for making this possible and to our list of inspiring speakers who have been generous with their time,” Oputa said.
On the 6th edition of the programme, the Chief Executive Officer of HOD Consulting/Founding Executive Director of JAN, Mrs. Simi Sanni Nwogugu said: “I developed LEAD Camp back in 2001 because, after two years of running JAN, I noticed that some of the girls who were shy or timid at the beginning of the company programme, were more confident by the end and needed just a little more encouragement to secure their new found leadership skills.”
According to her, “15 years now I am proud to support LEAD Camp again with some of our best leadership development workshops at HOD Consulting.”
Speaking on the Bank support of the initiative, the Managing Director of Union Bank Plc, Emeka Emuwa stated that developing and grooming young talent is a key focus area for the Bank. “The LEAD programme provides an opportunity for us to nurture and encourage an entrepreneurial mind set in these 50 young women who we hope will be the corporate leaders of tomorrow,” he added.