The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) has urged women in business to acquire technical skills to enable them to compete with their male counterparts.
The President of the association, Mrs Lola Okanlawon, gave this advice at its Sixth Annual General Meeting in Lagos.
The theme of the meeting was Taking your business from start-up to multinational
“Women wish to become established entrepreneurs, but have to work hard for it.
“There is the need to imbibe some basic skills that would move your business to the next level.
“Most women do not take time to read and to excel in business. You have to be versatile. You need to be computer literate, get knowledge on the stock market, customer care and so on.”
She said the association has so far trained more than 400 women in basic entrepreneurial skills within the last one year.
Also speaking at the event, Mrs Florence Seriki, the Chief Executive Officer, Omatek Ltd, urged women to create a balance between business and family.
“When I was breast-feeding, I took my baby as far as Asia for business meetings.
“As an upcoming entrepreneur, don’t expect to become great overnight. It takes a gradual process to build a multinational company.”
Seriki expressed optimism that women could take over most Nigerian businesses by 2017.
No fewer than 1,000 business women were at the event, where products such as smoked fish, handbags, and computer software packages were exhibited.
