my Journey

my name is Stella Ozemoya from Lagos Nigeria, an entrepreneur and a mother of 4kids, i operate my business in the rural part of western Nigeria where majority of the young girls from polygamous home, who just finish high school with no prospect on how to further their education, and women who are mothers with kids struggling to make ends meet, a lot of these class of girls and women have no skill and funds to start a business, especially those women who married young and the young girls getting pregnant because of lack of parental control, they are not prepared for the challenges, the responsibility of combining their home, children and other environmental factors working against them, when i see these women i see how unprepared i was back then, although i read architectural technology, i had an artistic background, my mother was a fashion designer with 7 children, i grew up learning how to make dresses, so i had a skill before getting married, i never used the skill, i was busy working in the field as a draftman until i could no longer cope with the discrimination at work, responsibility of a wife, home, children and my marriage, i had to go back and start using the skill i learn as a young girl, gradually i build my business, learn other artistic skills like bead and jewelry making, cake design and shoe making, I opened a vocational skill centre teaching other young girl and women on how they can be empowered and be useful to their community, my vision is to support, empower, engage, inspire and equip young women and girls to become the next generation of leading social entrepreneurs, leaders and change agents, i want to be successful in field of women empower and achieving this change i requires policy and programme actions that will improve women's access to secure livelihoods and economic resources, alleviate their extreme responsibilities with regard to housework, remove legal impediments to their participation in public life, and raise social awareness through effective programmes of education and mass communication. In addition, improving the status of women also enhances their decision-making capacity at all levels in all spheres of life. My passion for women and girls empowerment as made me to seek and further my education in entrepreneurship management from Pan Atlantic University EDC, Nigeria, being an Alumni of Tony Elumelu Foundation has development my ability as a Business service provider especially for start ups, as a mentor with Cherie Blair foundation for women in business their support has made me recognise the specific challenges women are facing and how i can help them be successful in their businesses, i believe in catching them young as an Askoka Changemaker scholar for Future Forward i believes in creating a different story for Africa's Youth: where every youth thrives in business, in their community and is trusted to lead. I presently collaborate with a Vital Voice fellow Ronke Kimemeihia-Eseka and the Lagos State ministry of youth, Nigeria, we organise training, continuous mentoring (and source for soft loan and small grant for those who have completed their training) in skill acquisition and entrepreneurship management for young girls, women and youth in rural community.