The Junior Achievement Nigeria, JAN, in collaboration with Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has reached over 1000 young women with its empowerment programme aimed at impacting leadership skills in them while bridging the gender equality gap.

Speaking at the 20th Leadership, Empowerment, Achievement and Development (LEAD) Camp, the Executive Director of JAN, Foluso Gbadamosi, said, ”At JA Nigeria, we take girl empowerment very seriously not only because of our commitment to contribute our quota to advancing SDG-5 (fifth Sustainable Development Goal), but also because we believe young girls should be equipped with life skills needed to assume leadership positions in the nearest future. Since the program started in 2000, we have reached over 1,000 girls.’’

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Also commenting on the just concluded LEAD Camp, the Chief Brand Marketing Officer of Union Bank, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, said, “Union Bank is delighted to partner with JA Nigeria for the seventh year, to organise the LEAD camp. This sustained partnership is a strong indication of our commitment to supporting the push for gender balance.’’

The LEAD Camp is an annual week-long program introduced in 2001, designed to identify and coach exceptional female students from across Nigeria.

The program, which addresses United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5, focused on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women and Girls, inspires and prepares young girls to become high-achieving leaders.

To foster this mission, each year, participants are taken through a series of activities including leadership and empowerment, workshops, and panel sessions with leading women from the private and public sectors in Nigeria.

This year, the Camp held virtuallyfor the second time since its inception, with girls joining in from various states across Nigeria.

Marvelous Olabanji, a 2021 LEAD Camp participant from Topfield Schools, Lagos, said, ”I would like to appreciate Junior Achievement Nigeria for selecting me to be a part of LEAD Camp 2021. My experience was very amazing, I learnt a lot like coding, vision boarding, goal setting, personal hygiene, critical thinking. I can now boldly say that I am a strong woman.’’