No matter how much impact we have on the lives of women within our network, we can never share their stories as well as they can. Which is why we created the #MyWIMBIZStory as an avenue for these women to share their stories on the impact associating with WIMBIZ has had on them professionally and personally.
The first edition of #MYWIMBIZStory is by Ms. Achenyo Idachaba,
Founder & Creative Director of MittiMeth and WIMBIZ Associate since 2013.
#MyWIMBIZStory
by
Achenyo
Idachaba, Creative Director, MitiMeth
When
I was asked to share my WIMBIZ story, I was happy to do so. I knew I would be
unable to meet the May 28th deadline but I was confident WIMBIZ
would understand why this Associate missed the deadline by a day despite the
gentle reminder. I’ll tell you why at the end of my story but I’ll first
start my WIMBIZ story by saying MitiMeth has come a long way since my first
encounter with WIMBIZ in August 2011. I was one of a few women selected to
participate in the premier Women Entrepreneurs in Handicrafts Business
Development Training organized by WIMBIZ, Vital Voices and the ExxonMobil Foundation.
I had seen the “Call for Applications” in one of the daily newspapers and
applied. This might sound a bit “self-centred” but the training was
specifically designed for ME! It was EXACTLY what my Green Start-Up (MitiMeth)
needed at that point in time and I was thrilled to be a part of the training
class and connecting with WIMBIZ.
Being
based in Ibadan meant that I could not participate in several of the Lagos
based WIMBIZ events but that did not stop me from keeping WIMBIZ management
informed of my post-training progress and attending the few I could. Thankfully
we now have WIMBIZ Roundtable Lunch events in Ibadan. WIMBIZ has been very
supportive over the years and has affirmed and validated in MitiMeth in diverse
ways. In 2013, I became a WIMBIZ Associate. That same year, I was given the
opportunity to speak at the WIMBIZ Annual Conference and was also nominated to
participate in the Standard Chartered Bank Dragon’s Den. Thankfully, I did
WIMBIZ proud by winning the 1st Prize at the Dragon’s Den.
Most recently, I was nominated by WIMBIZ to speak at the 2015 Global
Summit of Women. I did not end up going for the event but it was very nice to
have been considered for the Summit. I thought I’ll end my short WIMBIZ story
by saying this once again. MitiMeth has indeed come a long way since August
2011.
Just in case you’re still wondering why I missed the May 28th
deadline. I was up to my “gills” preparing for another event. A few hours ago,
I gave the opening talk at TEDWomen2015 in
Monterey, California. The theme of this year’s conference being Momentum. Let
us all keep the Momentum going as Women in Management, Business and Public
Service. GOD bless you.
Click here to watch her TEDWoman2015 talk
Interested in sharing your WIMBIZ Story? Send an email to wimbiz@wimbiz.org with the subject #MYWIMBIZStory.
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