The 2025 edition of the Be Empowered summit, spearheaded by Layal Jade Tinubu in collaboration with the Noella Foundation, marked a significant milestone on Saturday, April 12, as 20 women-led businesses were awarded grants totaling over ₦70 million. The one-day event brought together over 150 attendees at the heart of Lagos, championing a powerful initiative designed to help women start, scale, and sustain their entrepreneurial ventures.
The journey to this summit began with over 2,500 applications from aspiring women entrepreneurs across the country. From this pool, 200 participants were shortlisted and invited to attend the Lagos summit. Ahead of the main event, a final pitch session was held on Thursday, April 10, where five top finalists presented their business ideas to a panel of judges. Nine winners were announced at the summit, with additional recipients selected through the application review process. Following the event, eleven more attendees were also chosen to receive grants, bringing the total number of grant recipients to twenty.
In her opening address, Layal Jade Tinubu reaffirmed her commitment to women in business. She emphasized that the financial grants awarded this year were aimed at helping entrepreneurs “START, SUSTAIN and SCALE” their ventures, a vision that has been central to the Be Empowered programme since its inception.
The summit featured industry leaders who shared key insights into business growth and sustainability. Among the speakers were Elizabeth Isiorho, Founder of BETH Model Management, and Ibiyinka Ibru, CEO and Lead Financial Advisor at Moneystart. The event also included a fireside chat with Layal Tinubu, who spoke candidly about her own path, leaving the corporate space, launching Tots Toys, and building the Noella Foundation, all while balancing business with family life.
Returning to the summit were past beneficiaries from the 2024 cohort, who reflected on how the programme had reshaped their businesses. They described the transformative impact not only of the financial support but also of the intensive bootcamp that equipped them with essential tools to streamline operations, strengthen internal structures, and pursue sustainable growth.
This year’s 20 winners concluded their Be Empowered journey with a five-week bootcamp that served as the final leg of the initiative. The programme delivered expert-led training in areas such as strategic planning, financial management, operational systems, and long-term scalability, ensuring that participants were not just funded, but truly prepared to grow.
With each edition, Be Empowered continues to evolve into a cornerstone initiative for women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through a strategic blend of grant funding and structured learning, Layal Tinubu and the Noella Foundation are providing real tools for change, proving that impactful entrepreneurship support goes far beyond just financial aid.
