Yetroselane Fashion Hub, through its WEFash Impact Project, will graduate 500 fashion designers and entrepreneurs on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, bringing the total number of beneficiaries impacted by the initiative to 1,500.
The graduation ceremony, themed ‘From Skills to Impact: Building Skills, Creating Businesses, Changing Lives,’ will hold at the Ballroom Hall, Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos, from 10:00 a.m.
The WEFash Impact Project is implemented by Yetroselane Fashion Hub in partnership with the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The initiative is designed to equip young people, particularly women, with practical fashion and entrepreneurship skills that can improve their access to employment, income and sustainable business opportunities.
The 2026 graduation builds on the programme’s 2025 milestone, when Yetroselane graduated and empowered 1,000 beneficiaries through fashion skills, entrepreneurship development and business support.
With another 500 beneficiaries graduating this year, WEFash will have reached 1,500 beneficiaries trained across 29 states in Nigeria over three years, further demonstrating the programme’s growing national reach.
The graduation will also go beyond certificates. Selected beneficiaries will receive fashion tools and equipment, including sewing machines, grants to support them in putting their newly acquired skills into practice and starting or strengthening their businesses. Outstanding participants will also receive awards in recognition of their performance and achievements throughout the programme.
The event will feature a keynote address by Peter Keulers, Acting Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Lagos, Nigeria, reflecting the strong partnership between WEFash, CFYE and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Also speaking at the event will be Amarachi Kalu, Country Lead for Nigeria, Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE), alongside Temilola Adepetun, Founder, SKLD Integrated Services Ltd; Nneka Okekearu, Director, Enterprise Development Centre; and Nkechi Harry Ngonadi, CEO, NHN Couture, among other distinguished guests and stakeholders.
The Entrepreneur Panel will feature Olubukola Emmanuela Adenugba, Fashion Architect and CEO at Theellamorand; Akolade Oluwatoba, Founder, The Adari Africa; Toyin Onigbanjo, Founder/CEO at AugustSecrets Ltd ; and Kolawole Osinowo, General Manager, Business Management Solutions (MonieBook) at Moniepoint, moderated by Chinedu Azih, CEO, Kazih Kits Ltd.
The panel will examine the practical journey from acquiring a skill to building a sustainable enterprise, with conversations around leadership, business financing, business structure, growth and creating impact through enterprise.
Other highlights of the ceremony will include a beneficiary product showcase, fashion runway, exhibition, pitching session, awards and presentation of certificates.
WEFash Impact Project is more than a training programme; it is an ecosystem where we bring together young people, trainers, mentors, employers, entrepreneurs, industry partners and development partners, creating a network where skills can translate into businesses, jobs and sustainable livelihoods.
For Yetroselane Fashion Hub, the milestone represents a broader vision of using fashion not only as a creative industry but as a pathway to economic empowerment, entrepreneurship and job creation.
As 500 more beneficiaries graduate, the WEFash Impact Project continues to demonstrate what is possible when skills development is connected to opportunity, business support and the tools required to turn knowledge into action.