You can do it

Becoming an entrepreneur is a very difficult task, especially in a developing country like Nigeria, where businesses have to deal with huge challenges - lack of basic infrastructure, hindered access to capital and other issues - which other parts of the world take for granted.   It is even more challenging for women who have to deal with these impediments in addition to managing their homes in a very conservative environment.  To encourage upcoming young women entrepreneurs the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy put together an interactive session.

Fulbright Scholar Inspires and Connects in Ife

For American sculptor Al LaVergne, coming to Nigeria as a Fulbright scholar has been a homecoming to a home he never knew he had.

LaVergne, who is currently putting finishing touches on a 14-foot steel sculpture called “The Gift” at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife, described his experience in Nigeria so far as a year of new friendships, dialogue and inspiration.

As an African American from a large family, he had always felt a “strong connection on some level” to Africa.

He was inspired to travel to Nigeria after meeting prominent Yoruba woodcarver Lamidi Fakeye, who visited LaVergne at Western Michigan University, where LaVergne teaches, and spoke with him about the possibility of study in Nigeria. Though Fakeye passed away in 2009, LaVergne continued with these plans and arrived in Ife in January.