AATEEA, and Changemaker Africa Empowers Women of Faith in Nigeria, …Eric Ighalo advocates for women’s development
The All African Theological Education By Extension Association (AATEEA) in partnership with Changemaker Africa Youth Empowerment Initiative organized a 4-day international business workshop for women of faith, with the theme, ‘Women of Faith in the Market Place’.
The workshop opened on Sunday evening, 25th January 2026, at the Bethel Training and Conference Centre (Bethel Church), Ajah-Lekki, Lagos, and ended on Wednesday, 28th January 2026, with a welcome dinner.
Speaking on the workshop Convened by the General Secretary, AATEEA, Rev Kangwa Mabuluki, and the Executive Director Changemakers African Youth Empowerment Initiative (CMA), Dns Lydia Ighalo, the International Facilitator and the Founder of Changemaker Africa Youth Empowerment Initiative (CMA), Rev. Dr. Eric Ighalo, said, ‘Our focus is on supporting Christian women, women of no faith, and women who want to be assured they are into a business and are able to stand in the midst of competition in the global marketplace and big businesses that are trying to push them out of the market.’
‘This is one of the new focuses of AATEEA, the African Association of Theological Education by Extension of West Africa. Our theology requires us to put into practice the skilling of women’s capacity to do business, earn income, look after their families, and have a dignified lifestyle. It’s a new order we are putting across in Africa. We had one in Kenya, in Ivory Coast, and now Nigeria,’ Rev. Ighalo stated.
Explaining further, Ighalo said, ‘The trust is for the 25 countries AATEEA is working on in Africa to empower as many women as the Lord will bring our way to the networks of Theological Educators by Extension (TEE) in various countries, including Nigeria, with collaborative partners like Changemakers Africa.’
He emphasized that ‘we want to explore and reach out to young women, middle-aged women, and widows, and as we have sufficient resources, we reach out to them, to educate, train, skill, and support them. Though we don’t have all the resources granted, what we have is seed money. But we have enough funds across the world to raise partners for viable businesses and to direct investors to them, and as long as we’re able to do that, we’ll keep sustaining empowerment for the 28 years of our focus.’
Rev. Ighalo lamented the hardship and challenges in most African nations, mostly among rural women, widows, and young graduates. He said, ‘They are many, and we want to provide security, healthcare, and economic well-being. They need to support, empower, and strengthen their population. These are the class of people we want to impact.
When you feed a woman, you feed a nation. You empower a woman, you empower her household.’ ‘When a woman is impacted, eats good food, has good healthcare, and economically empowered, she will be stronger to bear children, contribute significantly in other areas, and be able to teach the younger ones,’ he added.
Calling for more participation, Rev. Ighalo said, ‘We see the effect of what we’re doing in the larger society, and we’re not dealing with only Christian women; we also take on people of different faiths, as long as they’re in business and need support and can meet the requirements of participating in our program.’
One of the workshop facilitators, a Lagos business woman and health coach, Dr. Mrs. Oluwatomi Olatoye, said, ‘This is not common in the body of Christ, and it is what we need, especially for women of faith in the marketplace.’
‘It was good hearing from faith-based mentors and experts across the world on how they navigate the challenges in the marketplace without compromise.’
‘This should be a regular workshop to help keep the principle of the gospel and to teach younger Christian women how to navigate and uphold their faith in the marketplace’, she noted.
Dr. Mrs. Rosa Andrew, a participant and widow with four children from Adamawa State, who lost her husband in 2022 to Boko Haram insurgents, said, ‘Before the invitation to this workshop, I had been traumatized.
It is disheartening that the little farm produce I have and depended on to cater for my children has drastically dropped, and I don’t know what to do. But I kept looking up to God for intervention, and being at this workshop has been full of hope and healing for me, with assurance that I am not left behind and forgotten by God.
With my exposure and all I have learned from this workshop, I now know my worth, and God is going to do something through me to touch other people’s lives. I will no longer be a widow depending on others; rather, many will benefit from me.
The moment I return to Adamawa, I will gather a group of women to share my experience and teach them things I learned here.’
The international business workshop for women of faith featured devotion, worship, group discussion on emotional intelligence, personal action plans, exhibition, networking, and prayers. It was declared open by Rev. Mrs. Roselyn Oduyemi, while the closing charge was delivered by the Chairperson, PFN, Eti Osa Province, Apostle (Mrs.) Busola Jegede.
Other facilitators at the workshop included a leading Nigerian banker, Mrs. Chetachi Okechukwu, Dr. Nelly Kangwa (Zambia), Rev. Kangwa Mabuluki (Zambia), Dr. Joyce Kasapo, and Dr. Alex Baba, as well as Mrs. Kudirat Ande, Pastor Florence Mabuluki, and Dcn. Lydia Ighalo.
