Atinuke’s story

Atinuke is the Founder of Sterlage Events in Nigeria. She is the one of the 1,700 Nigerian women entrepreneurs to have participated in our Road to Growth programme, which from 2019-2020 supported her to develop the necessary skills and connections to ensure her business survived the devastating impact of COVID-19.

Programme

Road to Growth in Nigeria

Date

2019-2020

Location

Lagos, Nigeria

The lessons taken from Road to Growth […] were a big part of the steps I took to navigate through the pandemic.

My name is Atinuke Badejo, I am the founder and lead consultant of Sterlage Events and I am married with three children.

Sterlage Events is a Nigerian-based company that offers a complete suite of event management and consulting. My passion for bringing people together to celebrate inspired me to become an entrepreneur and establish my company in 2017.

One of the major challenges I had being an entrepreneur was the poor knowledge I had of running a business.

I think that it is generally harder for women to start and grow their businesses because we often have more responsibilities to do with raising a family than the men have. Also, fear of failure and self-doubt are some of the challenges we face.

I heard about the Road to Growth programme from a friend on social media. She mentioned the HerVenture app, designed by the Foundation for women entrepreneurs, and so I downloaded it and after that I applied for the programme.

Women can benefit from using HerVentue if they want to know the right steps to launch and grow businesses. The practical examples used in the lessons made it very easy to use.

The major challenges I wanted to address through the programme were keeping financial records and writing a business growth plan for my business.

My favourite topic was the business growth plan. By the end of the course, I could put together my business growth plan without any outside help and I am very grateful for this.

I am a people person, so it naturally gave me joy to meet and study with other women entrepreneurs. We were able to learn from our experiences and advise one another based on what we have gone through.

I have been able to apply what I learned from the Road to Growth programme. I didn’t find it easy to keep my financial records before, but after the programme, I could see a clear picture of the financial state of my business.

Event planning is one of the businesses that was badly hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the lessons taken from Road to Growth, like close collaboration with other businesses, were a big part of the steps I took to navigate through the pandemic.

Atinuke Badejo poses for a portrait at her office in Yaba, Lagos Nigeria on 2nd March 2021. The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women continues to support women entrepreneurs across many African countries through their blended learning programmes, like Road to Growth and HerVenture.

Having a successful business means making a difference. The ability to make a difference has made me become more passionate about my business.

The impact of success on my family will be that I can be an inspiration to my children. I hope this encourages them to be the best in what they do.

The Road to Growth programme also encouraged me to set up a support group for women in my circle. I encourage all woman in business to participate in the Road to Growth.

When women-owned businesses thrive, the community wins.

My future vision for us is seeing Sterlage Events be the leading event planning and management firm in Nigeria, which consistently delivers quality services and creates memorable experiences.

Find out more about Road to Growth in Nigeria

Road to Growth is one of the Foundation’s three flagship programmes. It is highly scalable and adaptable. The Foundation is actively seeking funding partnerships to enable the programme to launch in, but not limited, to Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania and Mozambique, with each iteration carefully adapted for a local context. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss potential partnerships!

Find out more