Former Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Cooperatives in Edo State, Mrs. Afie Braimoh, has charged women entrepreneurs to embrace collaboration as a critical strategy to grow in business in the country.

She spoke at the NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) 2026 summit titled, ‘Rise, Lead and Transform’ in Lagos.

The forum featured fireside chats and panel discussion on how women can leverage digital adoption, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the media to grow their businesses and ways to become women of influence in the society.

Braimoh said to rise, lead and transform, there was a need to empower women to know what is important in business and trending the path to development.

“Women are the bedrock of any economy and we can do so much more, but we are so underrepresented in the global market and even locally. Women should be empowered with information, technology, AI. It’s no longer about big companies; it’s about women learning to collaborate. Every woman cannot be doing the same thing. When we come together, and bring our best skills and strengths together, we grow together. We must learn to reach out to another woman so we can all grow together,” she said

She further appealed to the government to elevate women’s status by creating an enabling environment to grow out of the survival mode, stressing that such intervention can come in the form of grants, funding, industrialisation and technology.

“Government can create centres where women can bring even beans and then transform it to other value added products because most women cannot afford those technologies to be able to add value. And that’s why the government, you know the government is not there to make money, they are there to support us. Create an enabling environment to allow women to transform those commodities into value added products,” Braimoh said.

President of NNEW, Mrs. Bolanle Edward, said the theme was chosen to encourage women to stand out and develop transformative business ideas.

Edward said the network has been engaging with the government about policies and the need to reduce charges and high taxes on women entrepreneurs.

According to her, NNEW, which has its headquarters in Lagos, has so far expanded its branches to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja; Rivers, Kwara and Ogun states and plans to establish offices in Ibadan and Kaduna.

She added that the association is committed to achieving its business sustainability plan designed for the next 10 years and partnering with the International Labour Organisations, Microsoft and others to train women in business.

Edward lamented that women were still not well represented in politics and lacked easy access to funding to support their business.

On her part, Deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mojisola Meranda, said the theme was not merely a call to action but a statement of possibility and a challenge to every woman, institutions and societies to commit to building a more inclusive and prosperous future.

She said: “Too many women still face barriers to finance, markets, mentorship, leadership opportunities and the institutional support required to scale their ambitions. Empowering women, therefore, must go beyond celebrating their potential. It must involve creating the conditions for that potential to thrive.

As a legislator and a woman, entrusted with leadership in the negotiators of assembly, I recognise that sustainable empowerment requires deliberate action.”

She called for policies that promote equal opportunities, improve access to capital and business development support, expand skills acquisition and create an environment where women-owned enterprises can grow, compete and thrive.

“We must also invest in mentorship and intergenerational partnerships, ensuring that women who have broken barriers do not become the last to do so, but the first of many to open doors to others. When a woman rises, she should not have to rise alone. She should be empowered to lift others with her.”