Nigerian Entrepreneur Secures UK Grant For Disadvantaged Women

A Nigerian entrepreneur, Dr Victoria Olatunde, has secured funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to expand her women empowerment initiative in Blackburn, United Kingdom.

Dr Olatunde, founder of Awero Care & Crafts Community Interest Company (CIC), said the grant would be deployed to deliver structured wellbeing and skills-based programmes targeted at 45 disadvantaged women.

The development marks a significant milestone for the organisation, which has largely depended on self-funding and volunteer support since its inception.

In a statement she signed, Olatunde said the organisation was broadening its outreach through strategic partnerships. She noted that Awero Care & Crafts recently collaborated with Humraaz Support Services, a Blackburn-based charity, on an eco-conscious initiative tagged “Waste to Wonder”.

The programme trained about 20 women to create fashion items from recycled and thrift materials, combining sustainability with creative enterprise.

“Everything I do connects creativity and wellness. When women come together to create something from nothing, it fosters healing and enterprise. My approach is designed to make creative practice accessible, purposeful and environmentally conscious,” she said.

Olatunde’s initiative in the UK builds on over two decades of experience across Africa and Europe, during which she has implemented programmes to empower women, children and young people. Drawing from her background in traditional tailoring, she has consistently leveraged fashion and crafts as tools for economic empowerment and personal development.

Despite facing personal challenges, she has sustained and expanded her impact through various initiatives, including the Victoria Olatunde Foundation, which delivered grassroots empowerment programmes across Africa. Beneficiaries of these programmes have gone on to establish small-scale businesses and independent income streams both locally and internationally.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she self-funded outreach efforts in Abuja, Nigeria, providing free creative and wellness training to more than 120 vulnerable persons.

Commending her efforts, Councillor Salim Sidat MBE of Blackburn with Darwen Council said he had witnessed first-hand the dedication and impact of Dr Olatunde’s work. He noted that the funding represents the first major external support she has received and is well deserved.