By Ebunoluwa Sessou

As parts of effort to strengthen her capacity, female Chief Executive Officers, CEOs recently converged to establish a coalition to advance women’s economic empowerment and opportunities in order to address gender disparity.

Participants were female CEOs and representatives of women’s associations, including Women in Successful Career; Women in Management; Business and Public Service; Association of Nigerian Women in Business Network; Academy for Women Entrepreneurs; African Women Entrepreneurs; Warri Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities

The goal of the coalition was to make life better for women and girls by pushing for improved implementation of economic policies that will enhance women’s access to public and private procurement as well as income-generating opportunities.

Speaking at the UN Women Economic Empowerment, WEE programme in Lagos, the UN Women’s Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong, said, the coalition’s primary objective was to enhance the implementation of economic policies that facilitate improved access for women to public and private procurement opportunities, as well as income-generating activities.

Eyong, who was represented by WEE Specialist for UN Women, Dr. Chukwuemeka Onyimadu, stated that, every women-owned businesses still struggle to secure procurement contracts, underscoring systemic gender inequalities within governmental and private sector procurement systems.

She noted that this disparity had prompted calls for policy reforms that could provide preferential treatment to marginalised groups, thereby leveling the playing field for women entrepreneurs and their male counterparts.

“Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of female entrepreneurs in the world, yet women-owned businesses do not secure procurement contracts, suggesting systematic gender disparities in the procurement systems of both government and private sector organisations.

“The consensus on the positive correlation between gender equality and the socio-economic environment of a country calls for incentives to ensure equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs and their male counterparts, for instance, in the form of preferential treatment for marginalised groups when it comes to the procurement of goods and services”, she said.

In his remarks, the Director General of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Fatai Onafowote, noted that the government must simultaneously develop the nation’s services and ensure that women are given equal consideration in decision-making.

Onofowote advised female CEOs to register with the public procurement agency, with evidence of their CAC registration to be able to participate in any opening opportunities by the State government.
“You will show the different forms of your status with CAC which must remain active, meaning that you are doing what you are supposed to do as a good citizen by filing annual returns. You will also show evidence of tax payment as a good citizen, and then you can do business with us.
“As you proceed, you will also show contracts and projects that you have done in your area of core competence.
“As a procurement agency, we do not do experiments because the citizens have lots of expectations. In most times, experience is important and the business owner needs to tell us her area of specialization and that is what is involved. It is critical that you do your business well and maintain to deliver to time when you are given the opportunity.
“We are partnering with the United Nations because we know the roles women play in society so it is important to know that when you are empowering a woman, you are empowering a nation and we understand it as such.
“And we are working with the government to ensure that nobody is left behind. We want to ensure that the project is inclusive. The agency of Lagos state government is very positive when it comes to carrying everybody along and we are happy to be part of this government”, he said.

Also, speaking on policy and action plan, Rinmicit Temlong, Albright Stonebridge Group, said, if passed, the policy would help women farmers adapt to climate change by partnering with the technology sector for affordable modern farming techniques and providing irrigation facilities to combat drought.