Women CEOs In Nigeria Form Coalition To Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment

Women chief executive officers (CEOs) and relevant stakeholders have convened in Lagos to form a coalition to address the gender disparity in access to economic opportunities in Nigeria and advance women’s empowerment.

According to a statement issued by United Nations Women on Tuesday, the coalition’s single goal is to improve the lives of women and girls by advocating for better implementation of economic policies that increase women’s access to public and private procurement as well as income-generating opportunities.

Nigeria has one of the highest proportions of female entrepreneurs in the world, but women-owned businesses do not receive procurement contracts, implying systematic gender disparities in both government and private sector procurement.

The statement went on to say that the consensus on the positive relationship between gender equality and a country’s socioeconomic environment necessitates incentives to ensure equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs and their male counterparts, such as preferential treatment for marginalised groups in the procurement of goods and services.

According to the statement, UN Women is doing this under the auspices of the project Women’s Economic Empowerment through Affirmative Procurement Reform in West and Central Africa, which is funded by the African Development Bank and the Women’s Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi). The project aims to improve women’s economic empowerment by increasing opportunities for women-led businesses to access public procurement and corporate supply chains.

The statement explained that the project was designed as a catalyst to support the enabling environment for women to work and be financially independent, as well as enhance the capacities of government officials to formulate and implement gender-responsive policies, noting that gender-responsive policies are crucial to achieving sustainable development, as they enable women and girls to participate fully in and benefit equally from socioeconomic opportunities, address the underprivileged

According to the statement, by Women’s coordination mandate and as part of the project exit strategy, the coalition will collaborate with existing state institutions to advocate for policy approval, monitor government interventions, and promote the economic rights of women entrepreneurs in the state. Furthermore, the coalition is expected to advocate for the domestication of existing legal frameworks that promote women’s economic empowerment within the state. The coalition will then act as key connectors between government and business, helping to create a strong enabling environment for civil society organisations, democracy, and the rights of citizen action and participation.

Ms Beatrice Eyong, UN Women’s Country Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, was represented by Women’s Economic Empowerment Specialist for UN Women.
Chukwuemeka Onyimadu stated, “According to the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment, 30% of all public procurement opportunities should be reserved for women-owned and women-led businesses.” However, this has not been realised due to socioeconomic constraints.

Leading female CEOs and representatives from women’s associations such as WISCAR, WIMBIZ, ANWBN, AWE, AWP, WACCIMA, JONAPED, and others attended the strategic meeting, as did Fatai Onafowote, Director General of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency.

Mr. Onafowote reiterated Lagos State’s commitment to increasing women’s access to public procurement.