Actions for Impact: The Cherie Blair Foundation’s Mentoring Women in Business Programme

The Cherie Blair Foundation’s Mentoring Women in Business Programme provides mentoring to support female entrepreneurs across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America. Mentors can provide advice in areas such as business planning, marketing, finance or human resources to help mentees build and expand their business. I was thrilled to be selected for the 2021-2022 cohort of mentors for this year’s virtual program, joining past mentors before me who have shared their time and expertise over the years.

The Foundation’s commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment to drive responsible growth resonates with my own commitment to mentorship. I’ve had the privilege of working with some great mentors growing up and in my career and the Programme seemed like a great way to pay it forward with the two decades of financial knowledge I’d accumulated. I was excited to be selected and even more excited when I was paired with an amazing entrepreneur in Kebbi, Nigeria, Maryam Yakubu.

Maryam is a mother of two young children who recognized a need for healthy foods that can be easily incorporated into the routines of busy, working households. She struggled with caring for her in-laws who are diabetic. The result was Ma’Zaine Foods, a brand of date, millet flour, and other powders, produced by her company, Mainstream Lime-Light Ltd. She hopes to expand her business into exportation at some point, with interim goals of opening up her own factory for production, sourcing ingredients locally, and hiring local women to give back to her community.

What struck me about Maryam is her integrity. On the business side, she would not compromise on the quality of her products, even willing to lose some business in the short-term to maintain her reputation in the long-term. On the human side, she volunteers with women’s groups to help train other women to be successful entrepreneurs themselves, covering topics such as how to advertise on social media. Incorporated into her business plan are clear goals to uplift her community alongside the growing success of her business, an attempt at creating a virtuous cycle of returns to both business and community.

I have so much respect for the work Maryam’s done to-date and feel privileged to help her on this next leg of her journey. Since our initial meetings in August 2021, we’ve covered a variety of topics both “hard” and “soft”. “Hard” topics include reviews of her operations, grant proposals, and pitch decks. “Soft” topics covered the not-often-reviewed-enough topics of self-care and burnout. I hope that my perspectives and expertise help Maryam build a thriving business that will create long-term economic and health benefits for her community.