Highlights from the FATE Foundation's 2022 Annual Celebration & Awards Ceremony

2022 FATE FOUNDATION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION & AWARDS CEREMONY

Dear ,As we round off what has been a truly impactful year, we are happy to share highlights from our 2022 Annual Celebration & Awards Ceremony with you.

Hosts: Mr Aghogho Akporido, Senior Programs Manager, Head, Startup & Youth Enterprise and Mrs Ijeoma Adesanya, Senior Programs Manager, Head, Scaleup Lab

Our Founder & Chairman, Mr. Fola Adeola during his welcome address noted that small and growing businesses across Nigeria are at the heart of what we do. He said, "We are here today because we all believe in the potential and power of entrepreneurship – the ability of an individual who can translate their dream or idea into reality despite the many risks, challenges, and roadblocks they would have to endure on their venture-building journey.”

Launch of the 2022 FATE Foundation Impact Report by

 Mrs Adenike Adeyemi,

Executive Director, FATE Foundation

The 2022 FATE Foundation Impact Report is beyond just giving the highlights of the entrepreneurs that we supported and the programs through which we deliver those support. It also shows the impact of specific stories that are emblematic of the key things that we experience during the year. This year, we supported 639 entrepreneurs through our facilitator-led Pre-incubation, Incubation, Owner-manager, and Accelerator programmes and 1489 who went through our short courses and self-paced eLearning programs. This brings us to a total of 7,438 entrepreneurs that we have impacted in 22 years through our flagship programs, 230,000 entrepreneurs through our short entrepreneurial courses and 678,940 reached through our online resource platform.Below are a few aspects we covered in the 2022 Impact Report1. Expanding, Learning and Influence2. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion3. Sustainability and Climate ChangeClick this link to download the full report for free.

Keynote Speech by Mrs Adenike Ogunlesi, Founder/Creative Director, Ruff "n"Tumble

Mrs Ogunlesi spoke extensively on the theme, "Expanding Possibilities: Breaking New Grounds" sharing the challenges, lessons, and blessings from her entrepreneurial journey. She said, "As an entrepreneur, in the course of stepping out boldly, you will make mistakes and sometimes fail at doing something but know that the future is made by marching forward not backward". 

This year, we graduated 639 entrepreneurs across 20 states in Nigeria stretching us to 30 states in 21 years through our pre-incubation, incubation, owner-manager, and accelerator programs, and 1500 who went through short courses and also self-paced e-learning programmes. The graduation ceremony was led by Mr Adebambo Adebowale, Dean & Director, The FATE School.

The Valedictorian Speech

The valedictory speech was given by Ireoluwa Bolajoko, Founder/CEO, Oke Partners, a graduate of our AEP 108.

FATE Musical Team Performance

The FATE Musical Team thrilled us with a wonderful self-composed song titled, "SURELY". The lyrics of the song were motivating and even after the event, on the lips of everyone was "Surely, we will get there". The team comprises Amaka Nwaokolo, Head, The FATE Institute; Oluchi Johnson-Achibiri, Digital Products Manager; Semilore Ogundipe, Associate, Accelerator Programs; Rachael Balogun, Alumni Community Officer; Damilola Oyekunle, HR/Admin Officer.

Every year, we give awards to some notable entrepreneurs and FATE volunteers under six categories of awards. This year, the recipients of our awards are:

• FATE Volunteer Faculty of the Year: Mr Tolu Akintan, Head African Affairs, A-kins Analyst & Project Manager

• FATE Volunteer Mentor of  the Year: Ms Badeji Ajibike, Lead Consultant, Argrove Consulting

• FATE Volunteer Consultant of the Year: Mr Tomi Omojuwa, MD/CEO, Rockshield Microfinance Bank

• FATE Volunteer Content Contributor of the Year: Mr Emmanuel Otori, CEO, Abuja Data School

• FATE Alumni Model Entrepreneur (FAME) Award: Mrs Toyin Bakare, CEO, SAS Textiles

• FATE Model Entrepreneur (FME) Award: Dr Nnaeto Orazulike, Group Managing Director, Genesis Group

Induction to the FATE Alumni Community by the President of the FATE Alumni ExCo, Mrs Toyin Bakare

The FATE Alumni Community's President, Mrs Bakare, CEO, SAS Textiles, inducted the newly graduated entrepreneurs into the FATE Alumni Community and introduced them to the Alumni Hub, a digital platform that allows members of the FATE Alumni Community to showcase their businesses, interact with the FATE Growth & Alumni Services team, and receive post-program support from The FATE School. With the Alumni Hub, FATE entrepreneurs can network, collaborate, gain visibility, get tips from industry leaders and professionals, and ultimately grow their businesses. If you are a FATE Alumni, you can sign up on the platform here.

Vote of Thanks by

Mrs Adenike Adeyemi,

Executive Director, FATE Foundation

Mrs Adeyemi thanked all our Partners & Funders; Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); ANDE, Banwo & Ighodalo, Bank of Industry, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Creative Metier; DIYlaw, GEN Research, HilL, KPMG, LSETF, MainOne, Meta, Mitsubishi Corporation, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Crosswise Works, The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Stanbic IBTC Bank, Youth Business International (YBI), Standard Chartered Foundation, CBI, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; Volunteers, FATE Alumni ExCos, and the FATE Foundation's team.We specially appreciate all our stakeholders for enabling our work in fostering wealth creation by promoting businesses and entrepreneurial development among Nigerians. Thank you for being part of our 2022.Visit our YouTube channel to catch up on the live stream of our 2022 Annual Celebration & Awards Ceremony.Regards,FATE Foundation