The Bank of Industry (BoI) has unveiled plans to equip women with requisite skills and knowledge to drive entrepreneurship growth in women.
The bank noted that the move seeks to empower women entrepreneurs to achieve sustainable economic growth in the country.
Its Acting Managing Director, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, quoting the World Bank asid Nigerian women account for about 42 per cent of the total labour force in the country, adding that the figure had reduced.
He emphasised the need to promote women’s access to gainful employment, saying this could unleash a strong force for innovation, productivity and economic growth in the country.
Olagunju pointed out the need to encourage more women entrepreneurs to create wealth and job opportunities for the unemployed youth.
The Development Finance Institution (DFI) is one of the very few banks with a dedicated gender desk that supports women all across their various stages of business activities.
Represented by the Executive Director, Financial Inclusion, Micro Enterprise Directorate, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji at an event to empower women, Olagunju said: ”We are using today’s celebration to encourage other women starting as small entrepreneurs, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and those that have grown very big to bring all of them together to share ideas among ourselves. Women have to be bold, they must have their dream and BoI is ready to support them.”
Tagged: Be Bold for change,the forum gathered notable women who have dared to succeed, despite challenges in the economy to share experiences in their various journeys to success in the hope to empower women with tips required to fulfill their business aspirations.
It is also to recognise the role that women have played in the empowerment of nations all across the world.
“We want to recognise our friends, partners and women that have made marks in different sectors. We have a dedicated gender desk that helps women all across their various stages of their business. We are here to hold their hands and we are also here to help them think of their businesses as they go along. We are here to let them know that there is access to finance, markets, trainings and growth opportunities,” Olagunju said.
Tag: women empowerment
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BoI targets women empowerment for growth
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Diasporan urge government to support women farmers
MoThe exportation of Agricultural products can help to boost the Nigerian economy and rescue uit from recession, said Mary N. Brakner, Managing Director of Afric Global Foods and Director of Yeye Oge Fashion.
The Sweden based entrepreneur made this known during a recent visitation to Nigeria to witness the launch of Damesh Beauty Clinic at Ikoyi Lagos where frown lines, wrinkles and many other facial treatments are done within few process as against plastic surgery.
Speaking to our corresponden at the event, Yeye Oge lamented that men are the most targeted farmers who are well trained and wealthy in most parts of Africa, especially Nigeria.
“If we must invest in agriculture, we must focus on women because they are the most populous. We can be producing and exporting our farm produces like it is in Costa Rica. They export their farm produce and it is boosting their economy. So I want us to focus on women also, so that we can build this country together,” she said.
According to her, if the population of Africa is put at 1,216,129,815 (App 1.216billion by 2016 est) and the population of women is an estimated half, that is about 608 million (608,064,907) people to be engaged in farming. Africa needs to explore this population.
“I want to use this medium to reach every woman, especially in Africa, not just in Nigeria that we can all fight poverty through farming. Like the saying that when you train one woman you train a nation, that is the reason I want our government, especially Nigerian government regardless of the political affiliations.
“There are a lot of things on the ground, food scarcity for instance and people don’t have the money to even buy foodstuffs due to recession. But we can do a lot if we engage these local women to use local methods of farming and also get machineries for mechanized farming. All these things will make it easier. So I am urging the government to help us to be able to help the people.
“For instance I have an NGO since 2012 and I have been discussing with the Nigerian ambassador to Sweden on how our government can focus on women so that together we can be great achievers. A tree cannot make a forest, I cannot do it alone.
“In this organization, Afric Global Food, it is Afric because I didn’t limit it to Nigeria as we have people from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya etc, but Nigeria has the most members so we need our government to do more especially in empowering women for farming.
“I have visited Nigeria several times to talk to Osun and Oyo state government and I have been sponsoring myself. What I am now concerned with is for government to give support and focus on this area of women empowerment in farming. I believe we can do better if government can help.
“I have a farm that produces maize for local consumption and we also have this animal farm where we are goats. But we want to do more. We have about 25 people working with us and we want government to assist us to do more so that we can impact the society. We have been with those at the office of Farmers’ Association in Osun but no head way yet.
“We are also in discussion with the traditional ruler, Olayan of Oyan and he has given us land but we are waiting for a certification so that there won’t be interference by miscreants when we start working on it. We don’t people to come and say; hey, you are encroaching on our land.”
Responding to questions about our possible support for Nigerian Small and Medium Scale Entreprises, Ms Brakner said: “I love to assist people who plan to export food products abroad because I have been taking some Nigerian products to Sweden, like garri, ogbonna, moringa seed to sell in shops over there so I will like people who are interested to come on board.
“It is just to have an agreement, get NAFDAC’s approval and over there, we can meet authorized requirements. We have this programme with support from Swedish government in 2013 to bring Nigerian farmers for training but it didn’t go well because the visa session required an authorization from a Nigerian government (State or Federal) to guarantee that the trainees will return to Nigeria after their training period.
“In fact, we already engaged a school of agriculture in Sweden. We got one in Absallam and there is another one in Yonshoppy and they welcomed us, but they needed some sorts of government document to say that these people are coming for this period of time and will return thereafter.
“That is how far we have come. We have not given up on it because winners don’t quit and that is why we are reaching out to government and good hearted Nigerians to support. We can provide job in this way.
Hey She further stated that the private sector need to help to support prospective exporters while waiting for the government.
“The door is open to private partners too. What we would do is to seat at a round table and we table the proposal and kick start because we already have the key points in Sweden which is one of the good countries to do agriculture,” she said.
Validating Yeye’s views, Temitope Jacob Atikekeresola, Every farm produce needs to first be stored, processed for proper preservation “if our farm produces must have a longer shelf life.”
Atikekeresola who also spoke at the launch observed that Nigeria lacks the preservation, storage and processing system.
“These are 3 different events in agriculture. If you have the storage which is when the farm produces are harvested and transported to the storage system which extends their life shelf life for some weeks or months while the processing system is for example tomatoes paste can last 6months to a year of which a stored farm produce may not last that long.
“But processed foods can last longer. In fact, some countries already have foods for the next 10 years processed. Sadly, we don’t have a good storage system yet, let alone the processing system. It requires a huge capital which is why government must come in or some financially buoyant private investors,” he stressed.
www.yeyeogefashion.com
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Obiano’s wife seeks women empowerment
The wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano has called for the adoption of a pan-African approach to women empowerment to boost their financial standing.
Mrs. Obiano who is the founder of Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ) an NGO, made the call in a paper titled, ‘From Exclusion to Inclusion: Country Level Initiatives Towards Financial Inclusion, A Nigerian Perspective,’ presented at the 4th Gender Equality for Sustainable Development Conference which held last week in Kenya.
Represented by the Commissioner for Social Welfare, Children and Women Affairs, Dr. Victoria Chikwelu, and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Hon EmekaOzumba said though there might be minor differences, cultural barriers to financial inclusion are largely the same across Africa.
“There is no doubt from country statistics that women are the most financially excluded because they have to overcome the barriers of income inequality, distance to location of financial services, financial illiteracy, high cost of services and other cumbersome requirements,” she said.
But from my experiences, interactions and interventions with the rural poor, in Anambra State, Nigeria, financial inclusion means something different, an opportunity to earn an income before banking it.”
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Lagos signs $300 million MoU on women empowerment
LAGOS State Government has signed $300 million Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum(AWIEF) for improvement of businesses own by women.
Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget Mr. Akinyemi Ashade, who, addressed reporters at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre described the $300 million as a women’s Economic Empowerment Fund set aside by theAfrican Development Bank (AFDB) to empower women entrepreneurs.
He said: “Lagos Women Economic Empowerment Initiative (LAGOSWEEIN) is an initiative designed for the women of Lagos state for the purpose of ensuring entrepreneurial capacity building, business skills upgrade and preparedness as well as to facilitate access to finance and other services within the framework of affirmative Finance Action.
“Today’s signing of partnership agreement is a milestone between Lagos State and AWIEF and all women in the state. This partnership is reaching a major step in line with Governor Ambode agenda for women in the state, towards their strategic economical empowerment.”
Ashade listed other partnership with the organisation to include training, business coaching and technology transfer of women through a detailed standard operating procedure.
He said the government would honour its own part of the agreement which is to pay as when due invoices presented by AWIEF based on mutually agreed budget.
AWIEF founder Irene Ochem hailed the government for partnering with her organisation to empower women.
According to her, the biggest challenge women entrepreneur faces is access to fund, which informed why AFDB came up with opportunities for women to have access to finance.
“We are very passionate about women empowerment and partnering with Lagos with the largest business women is a worthy one.”
Ochem said the fund is for every businesswoman with no restriction on sectors, adding that the partnership is important as it would be about training and capacity building. -
omosexy takes women empowerment campaign to S/A
Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, will be in the eye of the world again. This time, it is not for her role in a new movie, but for one of such projects that have earned her accolades such as Times’ 100 superwoman in the world.
Omosexy, as she is fondly called, is expected to be in South Africa to join the popular ONE Campaign, leading other celebrities in a new campaign for women empowerment.
Tagged Poverty is Sexist, the project, which portends that women and girls are most seriously affected by poverty, seeks women empowerment, as a way to eradicate extreme poverty.
The initiative, which was conceived to support the Africa Union Year of Women Empowerment, was first launched on Thursday 16 April by the ONE Campaign in Abuja, Nigeria, at a policy forum that was attended by representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), Equity Advocates and Save the Children Nigeria among others.
From April 27, Omosexy will be in South Africa to participate in a music thriller, accompanying a campaign song that will be performed by top African female singers, including Omawumi (Nigeria), Judith Sephuma (South Africa) and Victoria Kimani (Kenya). The song will be co-produced by Cobhams Asuquo and Masterkraft.
The campaign has a petition which calls on African leaders to fast-track the fight against poverty, by investing more in women and girls, and ensuring that resources put to the service of women and girls are transparently and accountably used.
The song will be used to promote the campaign across the world, and will be officially launched in Nigeria, Mozambique, and South Africa, during the World Economic Forum for Africa and the African Union Summit.
“I am fortunate to be a young woman living her dreams, a trailblazer of my generation. But I also recognise that many women and girls are not so fortunate. Women and girls are hit hardest by the effects of extreme poverty, but when we invest in women and girls, we increase and accelerate the chances of overcoming extreme poverty for everyone. That is why I have joined the ONE Campaign’s Poverty is Sexist Campaign, and I call on the public to join me by signing the petition on www.one.org/sexist,” said Omosexy, about her new role as ambassador for ONE Campaign.
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FCMB, House of Tara partner on women empowerment
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited is partnering with House of Tara International to launch an economic empowerment initiative for women known as the Beauty Business On the Go (BBOG). The initiative is aimed at empowering women to become entrepreneurs. The project, the bank said, is in line with one of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focal areas.
In a statement, FCMB and House of Tara explained that the BBOG initiative involves the recruitment and empowering of 5,000 women to become beauty representatives. As beauty representatives, they will be selling multiple beauty brands as part time or full time business, thereby creating job opportunities for themselves. The representatives will be offered trainings, finance, marketing support and other skills necessary to grow their business.
Commenting on FCMB’s involvement in the project, the Head of Communications and CSR, Mrs. Uchenna Mojekwu, said, the BBOG initiative is another demonstration of its commitment towards encouraging women, especially the youth to discover their potentials with a view to aligning such talents with value-added ventures that will make them contribute more to national development.
‘’FCMB as a helpful bank and an institution which caters for all segments of the society, decided to use this platform to further engage women. As catalysts of social and economic development, we believe that by effectively impacting them, they will discover their talent and develop some productive skill,” she said, adding that in this way, they will be working towards the building of a sustainable life.