Entrepreneurship has been described by various sources as being in the DNA of every Nigerian. An innate drive to create new opportunities and create value for survival and posterity is at the heart of the success of many businesses and individuals in the country.
Over the last 75 years, the British Council in Nigeria has been providing a platform to budding entrepreneurs by creating programmes to hone-in skills development and giving access to mentorship opportunities in Nigeria and outside Nigeria allowing young eager minds to learn from the best brains around the world.
And, as a part of their 75th anniversary in Nigeria, they are celebrating 75 of their programme participants in the different areas of their work such as arts and culture, English language, education, civil society – whose lives, businesses and communities have been impacted positively following the participation. One of these participants is Tolulope Habib.
Thanks to you Tolulope Habib, a British Council Business Acceleration Boot camp participant, and the founder of Nigeria’s 30 Books Challenge in partnership with the British Council.
Tolulope Habib became a British Council Test It Grant Winner in 2019 enabling her initiative to deepen the literacy learning of Nigerian children.
Through it, the British Council in Nigeria is making a major investment in human capacity development. One of its key programmes is the Children Education and Literacy Project under the 30 Books Challenge in conjunction with Tolulope’s enterprise, the Young Readers Library headquartered in Abuja.
The Young Readers Library is a social initiative to provide access to quality books and spur a love of reading in children. With the pace of digital distractions and the lure of the e-tablet, the library is designed to inspire the creativity and imagination that are the natural gifts of childhood.
She said: “I learnt a lot from the Business Acceleration Bootcamp which has helped me grow my business. I learnt how to test ideas small and scale. I was also a beneficiary of the 250,000 Test it Grant.”
The first year, Tolulope tested a reading challenge that had a participation of 30 children. Later in the year, she sought the partnership of the British Council to scale the idea up to the 30 Books Challenge.
“The project was a success as I was able to execute the project in two cities, Lagos and Abuja. The participation grew from 30 to 190 participants. This year (2019) with the support of the British Council, the project has extended to more cities. This has given me and my business the capacity to touch more lives and improve the reading culture in Nigeria.”
So far, she adds, her new-found skills and contacts have enabled her business to impact more than1,000 children since her participation in the Boot Camp.
British Council is inviting past programme participants to celebrate its 75th anniversary with them by submitting stories of their experience and the impact it has had. Visit www.britishcouncil.org.ng for more information about how to participate in the 75 Stories campaign or follow #BritishCouncilNigeriaAt75 #ThanksToYou #75Stories
