The GMYT Foundation is an empowerment platform for under privileged women to learn various aspects of fashion illustration, design, and manufacture via scholarship provisions to the GMYT Fashion Academy. The foundation not only desires to train and equip women with skills in fashion design but also seeks to provide business knowledge for its beneficiaries to enable them start and grow sustainable businesses and in turn serve as vehicle for empowerment and employment.
The MD/CEO of GMYT is the delectable Princess Kelechi Oghene. A vibrant entrepreneur who grew up in a comfortable home and looked up to her mother for inspiration and direction. Her passion for modelling and fashion started from a tender age, little wonder she has turned out to be the phenomenon she is today.
‘God’s Might’ is the meaning of the acronym GMYT which is the name of Kelechi’s foundation and it comprises of the pattern class, free hand class, illustration and beading classes. With four different program categories: Aquamarine for 3 months, Pearls for 6 months, Sapphire for 9 months and Zircon for 12 months, the academy offers a flexible learning structure for its students to enable them work at their own pace and convenience.
“I started the program because fashion is my passion and most importantly, empowering women with my passion so they can be skilled and independent. The progress has been amazing so far, mouth opening in fact, God has been good. The core purpose of establishing GMYT Fashion Academy is to provide education and service for the development of the society. The Academy is committed to excellence, innovation, student satisfaction and development through shared efforts.” She tells me.
The rate of unemployment in the country is alarming and for Kelechi, teaching skills will go a long way to help support those who aren’t privileged to have a white collar job. In her words, “the economy is still struggling to stabilize post recession, white collar jobs in the country will still not be enough to cater to the growing number of graduates our universities churn out at the end of each academic session annually hence the need for our foundation to help support.” Kelechi says.
On the process of recruitment, she says “we take in students and train them for six months, then let them intern for another six months, allowing them understand the in and out of the business and also learning both pattern and free hand in the process while opening them to a world of possibilities.” Oghene states.
