Her Enterprise Hub, by Her Voice Foundation, is a hybrid physical and digital enterprise ecosystem. It helps them build sustainable livelihoods and break the cycle of poverty. Founder name: Favour AbatangStartup name: Her Enterprise Hub Current student in the School of Social and Political Science What three words best describe your entrepreneurial journey? Resilience. Purpose. Transformation. What is the startup idea? Her Enterprise Hub is a hybrid physical and digital enterprise ecosystem that equips vulnerable young women and girls with production tools, business incubation and direct market access to build sustainable livelihoods. Tell us more about the startup Through founding Her Voice Foundation in Nigeria, I supported over 7,000 at-risk girls and teenage mothers. I saw that traditional NGO interventions ended when grant funding ran out, leaving women without tools or market access. I launched Her Enterprise Hub to create a self-sustaining enterprise model that bridges training to long-term income and to create a ripple effect of what we were already doing. What motivates you as an entrepreneur? Seeing vulnerable young women gain financial autonomy, run profitable businesses and break the cycle of poverty for their families. How do you define success? Success for me is defined by stories like Mary’s, who was married off at age seven and shared after our entrepreneurship programme: "I feel like now I can become somebody." Helping girls reclaim their dignity, build viable livelihoods and become somebody is the ultimate measure of success. In terms of milestones, this work is backed by securing grant funding for our grassroots initiatives, winning support through the Mastercard Foundation Scholar Enterprise Fund and participating in Edinburgh Innovations' Power Her Up programme to create a lasting ripple effect for the next generation. What piece of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs? Build solutions rooted in the real needs of the people you serve. What role has Edinburgh Innovations played in your entrepreneurial journey? Through the Power Her Up programme and dedicated one-to-one business advisory support, Edinburgh Innovations helped me transition from running a nonprofit to developing an investor-ready, scalable business model. What's next?Launching our flagship physical hub in Nigeria targeting 5,000 women producers in year one, securing corporate supply chain partnerships, and raising catalytic funding to scale across Sub-Saharan Africa. Power Her Up Power Her Up is a ten-week programme (January to March) that helps women entrepreneurs turn high-growth, high-impact ideas into real-world ventures. Open to women students, recent graduates and staff, it offers expert-led learning, one-to-one advice, a supportive cohort of women founders, and the chance to pitch at a showcase event. Applicants should have completed some market research and customer validation and be ready to take their next step. Find out more and apply now This article was published on Friday 30 October 2026
