LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Shecluded, a female-focused fintech dedicated to creating economic prosperity for women through access to financial services.
Ifeoma Uddoh is a social entrepreneur and the founder of Shecluded, a female-focused FINTECH dedicated to creating economic prosperity for women through access to financial services. Since inception, Shecluded has been recognized internationally and was selected as one of NASDAQs milestone makers for its contribution to reducing inequality. Ifeoma is a Halcyon Fellow and her career spans over a decade in Consulting, Analytics, and Seed Funding for notable companies including PwC, and IROKO Partners Limited. Thanks to her hands-on experience with gender-lens financing, Ifeoma has featured on several entrepreneurship panels and master-classes hosted by First Bank, JohnHopkins University, Tekedia Institute, etc. She started her business in 2019, and today it employs 15 people.
Lioness Weekender spoke to Ifeoma Uddoh about her journey as a social entrepreneur and her vision to create access to financial services for women business builders.
What does your company do?
Shecluded provides financial services to women in business such as business loans, insurance and the business advisory they need to grow. We are an organization that powers financing for female entrepreneurs while also equipping them with the knowledge they need to succeed in business. The work we do helps to reduce the gender financing gap in African countries by giving women the opportunity to access business loans and by providing financial education to women. We also offer business training services to women.
What inspired you to start your company?
I grew up in a single-parent home after my dad died, I was raised by a young widow and knowing that many of her businesses failed because she didn't have the right business information and didn't have access to credit made me realize that the women's dataset has not been explored well enough. Another experience that ignited my passion was from the time I spent working with a seed funding company from 2015 to 2018. I had the opportunity to sit on panels, review pitch decks, and visit different seed investing companies. I noticed that women were notably absent, and it bothered me a lot because the higher I went on the corporate ladder, the fewer women I saw. Women make up 50% of the population and play a key role in nation-building and many of them manage small businesses to make a living as a result of unemployment but they are not getting the funding or the financial advice they need to be successful. So, I decided to start a company that focused on women and addressed these issues, and I started on this journey with the savings I had.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We are reducing inequality in access to credit by providing financial growth opportunities and services that are uniquely tailored for women. Our solution is innovative because it is explicitly designed to meet the unique financial needs of women entrepreneurs. Our loan algorithm uses a flexible technique that assesses the creditworthiness of women based on their current socio-economic profile. This makes it possible for every woman at every level to access responsible credit and reduces the risk of default. We also help women increase their capacity to qualify for loans and provide them with basic financial literacy knowledge.
Tell us a little about your team
Our team experience cuts across consulting, technology, innovation, business development, wealth advisory and strategy. We are a group of smart and excellent people with the passion to make impact and support the goals and objectives of our customers. We practice adhocracy, meaning that we place emphasis on constant growth, innovation and improvement. Every shecludian is fundamental to our growth and we all understand the vision and work tirelessly to achieve it.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My entrepreneurial journey has been a strong learning and development process for me. It’s wonderful to have passion, but it is also much more exciting being out in the field, doing the work and implementing strategies. Entrepreneurship is all about implementing, and it comes with a lot of self-motivation, failing, handling failure, and having people buy into your vision. So, for me, it's been a very good tool for self-reflection and it has helped me grow internal strength, meet people, learn about their backgrounds, and understand how gender plays a role in how we see the world and how we interact with the world. It has also been a very fulfilling journey because of what we have been able to achieve at Shecluded in contributing to societal and economic development by reducing the gender financing gap and creating an inclusive financial environment for women.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Our vision is to establish ourselves as a leading Pan-African brand that supports women’s financial independence. We would be bridging gender financing gaps not only in Nigeria but in other African countries and expand to the US and other markets as well. We plan to improve our processes, grow our community to 100,000 women, and expand our service offerings to include a financial literacy learning platform for women.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Through my work, I have found satisfaction in being able to meet people from different backgrounds. Also, being able to create moments of uplifting for women and drive positive change has been fulfilling. While working closely with businesswomen, I have had the opportunity to meet several women and hear their stories, and despite our different journeys, I have realized that we face similar struggles. Being able to contribute my efforts towards addressing these challenges has been very satisfying. As I see a lot of new ventures and initiatives towards empowering women, I am very happy that we started early and have been able to come this far. I know that more is coming as we work to bridge the gap and expand into other markets.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
My biggest advice for women who want to start a business is to know your “why”. I feel that your why is an important compass for achieving your vision. It is also very important to believe in yourself and also surround yourself with people who share your passion and can understand the vision. When starting a business, connecting with other women in entrepreneurship and building a strong network would be beneficial for guidance and support. I also would strongly recommend that you should know your numbers and work to grow your numbers. Take big steps, do it afraid, step forward, and things will fall into place. Be resilient and also, forgive yourself when you fail.
To find out more about Shecluded, contact Ifeoma Uddoh via email: ifeoma@shecluded.com or visit the company’s website and social media platforms:
Website: http://shecluded.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ifeoma.uddoh
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ifyhopee
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ifeoma_uddoh?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
