Nkechi Chima, Abuja
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has revealed plans to assist over 50 million Women in entrepreneurship.
ECOWAS Commissioner on Social Affairs and Gender, Siga Fatima Jagne, who stated this, in Abuja, disclosed that the project, which is tagged ’50 million Women Speak Platform’, will be in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs.
She expressed hope that the project would be a morale booster for women in Nigeria and Africa at large.
She added that, “We urge you to make available on this new platform all the necessary data that will make Nigeria, the country where the right of women to information is respected and especially, a country where women and girls have easy access to the information needed to create and finance their businesses.
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“This project is part of the framework of Act on Equal Rights for Women and Men for Sustainable Development in ECOWAS Area, which calls on member States to adopt all legislative and regulatory measures to ensure women’s equal access to all economic and gainful opportunities.
“This is in the area of trade and entrepreneurship, including access to public procurement, and taking into account their contribution in the formal and informal sector” she said.
In her remarks, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Alhassan Aisha, represented by Permanent Secretary, Ifeoma Anagbogu, applauded the initiative, insisting that such a project wouldmake beneficiaries knowledgeable and self-reliance in business.
According to the minister, “We will be working with different sector mobilising and sanitising women in Nigeria to get them better informed, which is applicable in other Africa countries to educate them on entrepreneurship to enable them have access to finance and other resources through technology,” she stressed.
