President, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW), Funmilayo Arowoogun, yesterday, urged government at all levels and private sector operators to develop programmes that could help improve funding for market women in Lagos State.
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She also urged critical stakeholders to initiate schemes and policies that would empower women, especially for capacity development, to enable them to successfully manage businesses and contribute to the nation’s economic growth.
Arowoogun, who gave the charge at a forum in Lagos, said challenges that confront women are multi-faceted apart from funding, adding that balancing family life with business is quite tasking.
She, therefore, urged federal and state governments to make the business environment more conducive for women to thrive.
The “lyaloja of Orisunmibare” Section of Mile 12 Market, Lagos, Mrs. Dupe Ojo, urged the state government to provide revolving loan for market women in Lagos.
“With such loan, all the market women will benefit. It should be about grants all the time. When we have a revolving loan that has all the members in the market benefiting, it goes a long way to solve the problem of funding for businesses among women, “ she said.
Meanwhile, Project Coordinator of Women’s Voice and Leadership Nigeria (WVL Nigeria), Niyi Adeyanju, said the WVL Nigeria Project aimed at tackling barriers to gender equality and supporting the empowerment of women and girls through provision of technical and financial resources to local women’s rights organisations and their networks.
He said NNEW had developed the capacity of over 300 women petty traders in four councils of Lagos State.
These women, he said, had training on simple financial record-keepings, basic costing and financial planning to prepare them for funding opportunities.
He said NNEW also introduced the use of social media to maintain sales, and for basic digital marketing.
Adeyanju said: “NNEW proposes to build the financial capacity of market women through education on basic financial record keeping, thus preparing them for funding opportunities. In the course of the program, the market women shall also be enlightened on the taxation policies of the Lagos Internal Revenue Services (LIRS).”
He added:” NNEW through funding support received from ActionAid Nigeria and Global Affairs Canada sensitised over 600 market leaders across the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Authority in Lagos State on “the ills and consequences of sexual harassment in the markets” as part of our efforts to end sexual harassments of girls and women.
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