Ecobank announces Leadership Training Programme for female entrepreneurs across Africa

Ecobank Commercial Banking has launched the Ellevate Leadership Training Program in collaboration with the Global Business School Network (GBSN).

The program is part of ‘Ellevate Equip,’ the brand name for all capability and training support initiatives for Ellevate by Ecobank, the bank’s gender financing program.

Ellevate is a multi-award-winning solution for women-owned and managed businesses, firms with a high percentage of female board members or workers, and businesses that produce products for women. The Ecobank Academy, in collaboration with the Global Business School Network and its members, the School of Business, the INSEAD Africa Initiative, and the INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute (EMI), Lagos Business School, MIT Sloan Global Programs, Stanford Seed, and the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, are supporting the program.

An initial cohort of 40 top-tier Ellevate customers from ten African nations, including Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, will receive the training.

“Ecobank developed Ellevate to support and nurture the growth of women-owned and women-led businesses by providing them with a full suite of financial and non-financial products,” said Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Group Executive, Commercial Banking, Ecobank. Its goal is to assist them in realizing their full potential and expanding their commercial and economic influence. ‘Ellevate Equip,’ a natural extension of these goals, was created by the Ecobank Academy to empower African women leaders by equipping them with the tools and skillsets they need to effectively lead themselves, their businesses, and their communities.”

“The Global Business School Network is excited to partner with Ecobank Academy in alignment with our mission to improve access to quality, locally relevant management and entrepreneurship education for the developing world,” Dan LeClair, Chief Executive Officer, Global Business School Network, said at the launch. We are very thrilled to bring together so many world-renowned academics to present this Leadership program, thanks to our broad membership. As a network, we see this as a shared learning opportunity in which we urge the cohort to take use of the faculty’s teaching expertise while also trusting that the faculty will seek to learn just as much about the local contexts in which these women leaders operate.”

Customers of Ellevate get smarter cash management solutions, lower interest rates, and value-added services like leadership training and networking opportunities to help them bridge the finance gap and develop their businesses.

The chosen corporate leaders will learn how to recognize and address important leadership issues. Master leadership views – reinterpret problems with a growth mentality and think strategically to achieve personal and organizational goals. Build resilience by learning how to effectively manage stress, uncertainty, and setbacks, as well as how to use action learning to uncover new business possibilities and enhance other aspects of your company’s growth.

They will also develop a comprehensive understanding of themselves as leaders and how to effectively lead high-performance teams as part of the curriculum.

“The Global Business School Network is excited to partner with Ecobank Academy in alignment with our mission to improve access to quality, locally relevant management and entrepreneurship education for the developing world,” Dan LeClair, Chief Executive Officer, Global Business School Network, said at the launch. We are very thrilled to bring together so many world-renowned academics to present this Leadership program, thanks to our broad membership. As a network, we see this as a shared learning opportunity in which we urge the cohort to take use of the faculty’s teaching expertise while also trusting that the faculty will seek to learn just as much about the local contexts in which these women leaders operate.”