Nana Benz Business Club

The Nana Benz Business Club is an NABC-led initiative designed to foster female leadership through knowledge exchange and business community support.

About Nana Benz Business Club

Nana Benz was the term coined to describe the businesswomen of Lomé who dominated the textile industry from the 70s until the early 90s. With less than a high-school education or pre-existing networks at their dispense, their work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit rose the Nana Benz to become the cornerstones of the Togolese economy. It is their excellence in leadership and management that allowed Nana Benz to claim their place in history.

Inspired by the Nana Benz of Lomé, the Nana Benz Business Club has been designed with a mission to support and elevate women entrepreneurs through business community support and knowledge exchange. The Nana Benz Business Club enables Dutch and African women entrepreneurs and knowledge institutions to cooperatively promote the position of women entrepreneurs and leaders on the global agenda.

“There’s no such thing as sustainable economic development without the active participation of women. The NABC aims to ensure that Dutch and African women entrepreneurs play a crucial role in driving Africa’s growth in a future-proof manner.”

Principles

Inspire

We inspire by providing high-level insights on topics related to women in business through thematic events and round-table discussions, and by promoting positive image of women in business through media campaigns, interviews, and by highlighting women business champions.

Connect

We connect Dutch and African women entrepreneurs by building a bridge between both networks through networking opportunities and knowledge-sharing trade missions.

Enable

We enable Dutch and African women entrepreneurs in elevating their businesses by providing high-level sectoral insights, growing their networking through networking opportunities, and highlighting women’s excellence in business.

Objectives

The Nana Benz Business Club’s main objectives are as follows:

To facilitate knowledge sharing and to foster discussion on advancing the position of women in business through events and round table discussions.
To strengthen the business community of Dutch and African women entrepreneurs by building a bridge between both networks through networking opportunities and knowledge-sharing trade missions.
To improve the position of Dutch and African women entrepreneurs by promoting positive images of women in business through media campaigns, interviews, and by highlighting women business champions.
To improve access to finance for women entrepreneurs by actively engaging and collaborating with gender-lens investors in order to share best-practice guides and investment opportunities with Dutch and African women entrepreneurs.