Paynesville — Over the weekend, YOCEL and the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR), concluded its Wologizi Fund Cohort 1 Close-Out Program for its first cohort of grantees.
Celebrating Impact & Growth through a remarkable journey of innovation and impact, the Wologizi Fund proudly hosted the close-out program for its first cohort of grantees. This memorable event brought together grantees sharing their achievements, challenges, and lessons learned through the program.
YOCEL, established in 2013, is a social enterprise accelerator focused on empowering young people, particularly women and girls, to engage in entrepreneurship and job creation that will boost their economic livelihood and reduce poverty.
As part of its vision in seeing a world where women, youth and children are empowered and free from poverty, the organization in 2023 embarked on a grant youth impactful initiative awarded to ten youth based organizations constituting twenty persons.
Giving an overview of the Wologizi funds initiative over the weekend, YOCEL Head of Partnership and Fundraising Chinelonma Anaetoh disclosed that the initiative is part of its impart fellowship program partnering with one of its funding members Global Funds for Human Right in providing funding for Early Stage Social Entrepreneurs. "For us social entrepreneurships are initiatives merging, marking profit as well as marking social impacts on society.
Chinelonma Anaetoh underscored the women, youths, and children as an integral part of the society, highlighting the importance of empowering them to discover their full potential "as an organization we envisioned a Liberia where Women, youths and children are empowered and free from poverty" she emphasized.
The participants according to her were selected from over one hundred- fifty people who applied last year, cutting across four different industries or sectors to include: the Financial Services, Agriculture, Technology Services and Fashion Design.
According to her, the participants went through rigorous mentorship and capacity building courses taken from YOCEL's John Freeman School of Social Entrepreneurship Curriculum, ranging from Exploratory Research, Boot Scam, and Executive Session among others.
Each of the ten participating organizations YOCEL Head of Partnership and Fundraising Chinelonma Anaetoh said, received the funding Five Thousand to enable them undertake projects and initiatives that will make them sustainable and provide livelihood to others.
Commenting on the wellbeing of the participants after the program, YOCEL Head of Partnership and Fundraising Chinelonma Anaetoh disclosed, they were able to work with them and prepared a sustainability plan that will make them generate more funds. "we expect that this grant provided to them will germinate it, that is why we were able to work with them in designing a sustainability plan that will help them grow the businesses and make them more sustainable," she added.
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She further admonished the Alumni to be an agent of change in championing the needed positive change that Liberia needs to get on par with other nations in development.
"As a social enterprise accelerator focused on empowering young people to engage in entrepreneurship and job creation that will boost their economic livelihood and reduce poverty, YOCEL remains a vibrant force in the Civil Society Sector, ensuring that young people are capacitated to contribute to their nation through social corporate responsibility," she added.
