Get Guardian on GoogleWomen-owned businesses across Africa may continue to struggle to expand despite securing major commercial opportunities unless public institutions and corporate organisations address procurement barriers and delays in paying suppliers, the President of Women in Management (WIM) Africa, Dr Ngozi Oyewole, has warned.
She urged government agencies and corporate buyers to publish procurement opportunities early, simplify qualification requirements and pay suppliers promptly, warning that businesses could lose valuable contracts when they lack the working capital to finance production while waiting for payments.
Oyewole made the call yesterday at the opening of WIM Africa’s conference, themed ‘The Power Shift: Women Driving Africa’s Global Economic Influence’, in Lagos.
Her call comes as the Federal Government seeks to expand opportunities for women-owned enterprises in local manufacturing, including a proposed shift from imported to domestically produced sanitary products in a market estimated at N184 billion yearly.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the newly approved National Policy on Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management was designed to promote domestic production, reduce dependence on imports, and create jobs through women-owned businesses.
Represented at the event by the Director-General/Chief Executive Office, Mariam Babangida National Centre for Women Development, Dr Adebayo Benjamins-Laniyi, Sulaiman-Ibrahim said almost all sanitary products consumed in Nigeria were imported, presenting an opportunity for local manufacturers to establish factories and develop domestic supply chains.
