To foster inclusion for female entrepreneurs in Nigeria, various experts have identified the need for a concentrated effort on the dissemination of accurate information, more access to finance, creating a pool for women with like businesses, breaking down of cultural barriers and more structured support from the government at all levels.
This was made known at the 2024 International Women’s Day celebration organized by ImpactHER, a foremost non-profit organization with a mandate for empowering African female entrepreneurs by bridging the gender business financing gap so as to help them realize their full economic potential in partnership with the African Union, ToolUp, BRAVE Women, GIZ and Lotus Bank. The training had in attendance over 400 female entrepreneurs.
In her remarks, Efe Ukala, Founder, ImpactHER, urged the women to forge a strong bond of unity, pull resources together and serve as a torch bearer in their various business enterprises. She explained that ImpactHER is an inclusion platform that seeks to help female entrepreneurs become the best version of themselves.
She said: “Inspiring inclusion is more than just a theme for International Women’s Day. It is a guiding light for us all, especially the vibrant community of African women entrepreneurs. It means creating spaces where every woman’s voice can echo with strength, where her ideas can flourish without boundaries and where her dreams are nurtured by the collective support of a community that sees no limit to what she can achieve. It means each of us committing to lift as we climb ensuring that our success is not a solitary journey but a shared voyage that paves the way for more women to step into their power”.
“For this training, we had a slot for 250 women, but today, we have over 400 women in attendance. These women came from all parts of Lagos, Ibadan, Ogun State and even Benin Republic to learn. This shows that women across Nigeria and even Africa, truly need platforms like this where they can learn, network and receive guidance for sustainable business progression. Generally, ImpactHER helps even the most marginalized women to get free resources that allows them to build a more structured and sustainable business. For example, we provide free business registration service, book keeping and accounting so that they can access the finance needed to build their businesses. All these, we believe will help foster inclusion to help bridge the gender gap. During the event, we organized a market place with over forty vendors to showcase and sell their items. We appreciate all our sponsors for making this event very successful”.
While delivering her training on the topic- Inspire Inclusion- Unlocking opportunities in exports and empowering African women to conquer the global market, Florence Okafor, Chief Trade Promotion Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council urged the women to invest in quality packaging, acquisition of international licences, have an excellent knowledge of the laws guiding imports in various countries and international trade terms.
Another facilitator, Olanrewaju Oniyitan, Founder/CEO, W-Holistic Business Solutions who spoke on the topic Growing Wealth: Growing an investable company as a woman founder hinted that people, a wonderful business model, track record of business growth, financial viability, scalability and risk management are some of the pointers needed for female entrepreneurs to become successful in their business.
She said: “I urge you women to have a rich portfolio of your work and be deliberate about ensuring that you seek the right information always. Regulatory compliance is also very important in accessing finance. You need to be conversant with the tax laws, PAYEE and many more. On a final note, I want you all to know that innovation doesn’t mean you have to go digital or online. Innovation means, you can look at your process, refine it, add something to your product to make it unique and different and you have already innovated. You do not need an app to innovate. Continuous research and development can set your business on the path of innovation”.
In a special message from the U.S. Consulate in Lagos, who was represented by Brittany Orange, to the women, she lamented the low representation of women in the country’s political and economic space and urged the government to provide a level playing field for more women to be active in politics and business.
