Launched on 1st March 2013, Women Of West Africa In
Entrepreneurship (WOWe) was created to meet the needs of Nigeria’s
‘missing middle’, young educated African women who are driven to start
in business but face significant challenges in competing with their male
counterparts.
The
Global Banking Alliance for Women says women entrepreneurs drive 20%
more revenue in spite of 50% less being invested in them. This picture
becomes even more extreme when viewed at a national level; according to
the IFC, in Nigeria women owned businesses represent over 25% of
registered businesses but have access to less than 3% of commercial bank
finance.
Launched just a few weeks ago; Women Of West Africa In
Entrepreneurship (WOWe) has garnered wide support from the female
business community in Nigeria, connecting a landmark 10,000 members in
just under 4 weeks. Entrepreneur and WOWe member Victoria Benedicta
Okpanachi says “I have waited a long time for this kind of organisation.
I have two products, both are doing well but there are lots of
challenges in getting things done. Labour is scarce for me to get as a
starter; I can't pay more than I gain. The banks are not helping matters
at all. If more women get empowered in Nigeria things will get better.”
The
organisation’s first conference will take place on the 20th and 21st of
June at the Eko Hotel on Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island,
Lagos, and workshops will take place on the 22nd at the Wheatbaker Hotel
on No 4 Opitolo Rd, Ikoyi, Lagos. The objective of the WOWe conference
is to raise the profile of excellence in entrepreneurship to Nigerian
women between 18 – 40, as well as profile and promote young upcoming
female entrepreneurs. A key aim is to make entrepreneurship accessible
to women through social media, interactive panels, Q&A sessions and
participation from young upcoming female entrepreneurs.
PhD
Student, Entrepreneur and WOWe member Tosin Alabi agrees with this
approach, “I get inspiration, especially from the stories of other women
who have succeeded in their own businesses. These success stories
reassure you that with hard work you can also succeed. It is not just a
community for me anymore, it’s a family of successful female
entrepreneurs who encourage and support each other.”
She goes on
to observe, “Nigeria has a population of about 50% women and only in
the last couple of years did their role in development gain serious
attention. As women, there is still a lot of work to be done as regards
our contribution to the development of Nigeria. Women are still yet to
totally overcome the clutches of the cultural set back placed on them,
as they are often viewed only as mothers and wives. I believe we can
only contribute our quota by working hard ourselves and encouraging as
many hard working women around us as we can.”
The cultural
obstacles faced by women are universally acknowledged. It is widely
accepted that creating entrepreneurial opportunities and building
capacity in financial literacy, business and financial management and
ICT for women and girls is critical for economic development and
prosperity in Nigeria. However, while there are many high profile
initiatives, funds, grants and training programs available to empower
and support women in this regard, there isn’t an impartial national
platform that allows all the key stakeholders in this sector to meet.
Additionally,
many women entrepreneurs are not aware or have the skills or network to
take advantage of these initiatives designed for their development. In
fact some of the funds and special budgets allocated to support women
entrepreneurs remain unspent in Nigeria. Student and WOWe member Anurika
Kenneth says “We need to enlighten society on the dangers of excluding
our women and girls from education. Society also needs to know the
potential dangers of such acts to national development.”
Recently,
CBN launched N200bn fund for SMEs, 60% of which should go towards
women-owned enterprises providing them with single digit interest rate
repayment terms. According to a study released by the World Bank, if
girls in Nigeria were employed at the same rate as boys, they would add
$13.9 billion to the country’s annual GDP. Unlike men, women tend to
invest 90 percent of their income back into their families and
communities (Cherie Blair Foundation for Women on April 29, 2013).
Speaking
at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Christine Lagarde said,
“When women do better, economies do better.” The writing is on the wall,
the message is clear and the time in now for the women of Nigeria to
drive their nation’s development to the next level.
Event Information
The
first WOWe conference will gather representation from women from all
walks of life from female entrepreneurs to aspiring businesswomen. The
forum will also include banks, financial services organizations,
development finance and impact fund investment institutions, Government
agencies with responsibility for the empowerment of women, SME
development organisations, corporations, NGOs and Charities, ICT &
mobile companies.
This event will be one of the largest Women Entrepreneur Conferences to hold in Nigeria.
WOWe
is sponsored and supported by Eden Lifestyle, Internal Revenue Service
Lagos State, QuickBooks Accounting Made Easy, The Wheatbaker Lagos and
more!
WOWe also has strong media partners including Forbes
Africa, New African Woman Magazine, Ventures Africa, Exquisite Magazine,
The Guardian Newspaper, Thisday Style, Bella Naija, Cool FM, Nigeria
Info, Wasabi FM, Precious Success, TW Magazine and more!
Home »
» Empowered & Entrepreneurial: Nigerian Women Receive Boost From New Business Network
0 Comments:
Post a Comment