Peace Is Empowerment: The LaBelle's Wompreneur Network Story

By Vivian Ozoemena, Founder & CEO, LaBelle Consult Limited & Wompreneur Network Initiative

I was once told that peace begins where poverty ends. I believe that deeply, because I have seen how unemployment, hunger, and despair become fertile ground for conflict. But when women and youth are equipped with opportunities, knowledge, and dignity, they do not just survive — they create peace.

Through LaBelle Consult Limited and our Wompreneur Network Initiative, we have been on a mission to reduce poverty and unemployment by equipping women with skills, platforms, and partnerships that open doors. For us, peace is not just the absence of war — it is the presence of opportunity.

Across Nigeria, we organize different initiatives that both sensitize and empower women. From community-based workshops in underserved areas to national empowerment summits, we bring together women from all walks of life, raising awareness on issues that affect them while equipping them with practical tools to thrive. These initiatives not only build skills but also foster solidarity, reminding women that they are not alone and that together, they can create change.

Over the years, we have:

1. Empowered women entrepreneurs through our annual Wompreneur Network Empowerment Summit 2024/2025, where hundreds of women gained access to mentorship, training, and financial literacy.
2. Created pathways to employment by designing vocational training programs in partnership with local and international organizations, from healthcare skills to financial and digital literacy.
3. Launched initiatives in media and storytelling, such as Empower Women through Photography & Writing, helping women amplify their voices while also building livelihoods.
4. Collaborated with organizations like Access Bank’s W Community, BCM UK, NILDS, JDPC, UN SDSN Youths Nigeria, and G100 Mission Million SDG Wing Nigeria, ensuring that empowerment is not just an event but a continuum of support.
5. Advocated for youth and women at global platforms — because we believe local action must resonate on global stages.

For me, peace is when a young widow, much like myself, no longer feels powerless but instead has the tools and courage to feed her children, run her business, and dream again. Peace is when a young man, previously unemployed, becomes a skilled worker who now supports his community rather than being drawn into violence or crime.

Peace must be practical. It must mean women walking safely to their shops or offices, girls staying in school without fear, and families sitting at their dinner tables with enough to eat. This is why our work focuses on reducing poverty and unemployment — because every job created, every woman empowered, and every youth trained is a brick laid in the foundation of peace.

But peace is not built alone. We need stronger partnerships, deeper collaborations, and a recognition from global leaders that peace requires economic justice, gender equity, and opportunities for all.

If I could tell global leaders one thing, it would be this: listen to the women in the markets, the youth in the classrooms, the widows in their homes. They are not just beneficiaries of peace — they are builders of peace.

At LaBelle and within the Wompreneur Network Initiative, our vision is simple but bold: to create a world where peace is not a luxury, but a lived reality — powered by empowered women and thriving communities.

So for me, peace is empowerment. Peace is women holding the keys to their businesses, children holding their schoolbooks, and families holding each other without fear. And until every woman and youth has that chance, our work continues.