Ezekwe Champions Results-Driven Women's Enterprise Accelerator, Leads PHCCIMA/WCCIMA to Empower 60 Entrepreneurs in Port Harcourt

High Chief Emeka Ezekwe, Group CEO of an oil and gas facility maintenance service company ,Women Enterprise Specialist and

Chairman of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce Professional Services and Consultancy Trade Group ; Program architect and Coordinator of the PHCCIMA/WCCIMA Women Economic Empowerment accelerator Programme- Cohort 1,has reaffirmed that sustainable economic transformation begins with equipping women with practical business capabilities rather than dispensing short-term interventions.

Speaking while coordinating the Cohort 1 Business Development Workshop of the PHCCIMA/WCCIMA Women Economic Empowerment Programme in Port Harcourt, Ezekwe described the initiative as a structured and measurable economic activation model deliberately designed to move beyond conventional empowerment approaches.

According to him, the programme combines "compassion with structure and empowerment with metrics," providing women entrepreneurs with practical tools, mentorship and accountability systems required to build resilient enterprises.

"A woman who earns consistently stabilises a family. When 60 women earn consistently, communities are transformed," Ezekwe stated.

The workshop brought together 60 carefully selected women entrepreneurs chosen based on their commitment, clarity of purpose and business potential. Participants developed executable micro-business plans, gained insights into viable business models, acquired bookkeeping and cash-flow management skills, identified markets and value propositions, and received guidance on accessing start-up support, post-training mentorship and seed loan opportunities.

Ezekwe disclosed that the accelerator incorporates business tracking mechanisms, mentoring frameworks, performance evaluation and clearly defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), with targets of achieving at least 70 per cent business survival and expansion, alongside projected income growth of 40 per cent among beneficiaries.

Declaring the workshop open, President of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, reiterated the Chamber's commitment to advancing women-owned enterprises as critical drivers of economic growth and community development. She emphasised that empowering women through enterprise development remains central to PHCCIMA's mandate of promoting inclusive and sustainable prosperity.

The women-focused accelerator programme was jointly facilitated by PHCCIMA and WCCIMA, underscoring the institutions' shared commitment to building a new generation of successful female entrepreneurs.

Resource persons at the high-impact workshop included Past PHCCIMA President and MD/CEO of Develope U, Dr. Emeka Unachukwu; NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs Coordinator for PHCCIMA, Richard Okiasi; and Coordinator of Rivers and Bayelsa States WCCIMA, HM Dr. Patricia Ogbonnaya, among other distinguished facilitators.