Women entrepreneurs form a coalition for women’s economic development

In Nigeria, the number of women entrepreneurs is among the highest in the world, and yet women-owned businesses do not secure procurement contracts, suggesting systematic gender disparities in public procurement systems in both government and private sector organizations. To address the gender disparity in access to economic opportunities in Nigeria, women executives and relevant stakeholders formed the Women’s Economic Empowerment Coalition.

The coalition focuses on improving the lives of women and girls by pushing for better implementation of economic policies that increase women’s access to public and private contracts, as well as income-generating opportunities. The consensus on the positive correlation between gender equality and a country’s socio-economic environment calls for the introduction of incentives to ensure equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs and their male counterparts, for example in the form of preferential treatment for marginalized groups when it comes to the procurement of goods and services.

The United Nations Women project, implemented under the auspices of the Empowering Women in Economic Procurement in West and Central Africa programme, funded by the African Development Bank and the Women Entrepreneurs Financing Initiative (WeFi), aims to improve women’s economic empowerment by increasing the capacity of women-owned enterprises to access public procurement and corporate supply chains.

In line with the UN Women Coordination Mandate and as part of the project’s exit strategy, the coalition will work with existing state institutions to seek approval of state policies, monitor government interventions and promote the economic rights of women entrepreneurs in the state. The coalition is also expected to push for the domestication of available legal frameworks to support women’s economic empowerment in the country. The Coalition will, in turn, serve as a key link with government and businesses and help create a strong, enabling environment for civil society organizations, democracy and citizens’ rights of action and participation.

UN Women Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong, represented by UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Specialist Chukwuemeka Onyimadu, said: “As per the national policy on women’s economic empowerment, 30 per cent of all public procurement opportunities should be reserved for women-owned and run enterprises.” However, this has not been achieved due to socio-economic challenges.

The Director-General of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Fatai Onafowote, who led women directors-generals and representatives of women associations at a strategic meeting, reiterated the state government’s commitment to improving women’s access to public procurement.