From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Female business owners under the auspices of the African Women Entrepreneurship Programme (AWEP) have asked the government to relax regulatory laws that serve as hurdles for businesses to strive in the country.
The women entrepreneurs from all over Nigeria converged on Abuja recently to showcase their talents, vocations and crafts.
The President of AWEP, Mrs Angela Agala in her speech decried the difficulties caused by regulatory laws and appealed to regulatory bodies especially NAFDAC to streamline processes and reduce complications that serve as bottlenecks to entrepreneurs in order to facilitate easier certification processes for businesses in the country.
She lamented the rigorous procedures and requirements involved in obtaining NAFDAC certification which has affected many businesses leaving the owners frustrated. She urged NAFDAC to prioritize timing.
Ajala said, “NAFDAC certification is very difficult to access, and it takes a long time before the owner can access it. We keep wondering why, even though our members are always giving us feedback on the difficulty they face’.
“If you write an application to NAFDAC, it will take about nine months before you get the reply. In those nine months, you have employees whom you pay and so many of your work activities are tied to the NAFDAC number, but the agency will not show concern.
“Again, NAFDAC will ask for samples, it will not ask for one or two but 12 and above for laboratory testing, this is wrong, to us in AWEP, this is not reasonable at all. These are the reasons why we want to go into full partnership with them, maybe there is a communication gap somewhere so we can close it,”
Also Speaking at the event, the Minister of State, Trade and Investment, represented by Mrs Chioma Achilam urged the AWEP members to commercialize their skills and crafts so as to export them and earn foreign exchange.
According to her, the future of the world belongs to entrepreneurs, urging them not to rest on their oars but to seize every challenge and turn it into an opportunity to take money for themselves.
She said “We should grow our business according to potentials around us, without minding the challenges because so many times, the challenges because of business opportunities. Just as you can see the way the challenge of the COVID19 Pandemic has brought business opportunities for nose mask and hand sanitizer sellers.
She assured them of robust government support, especially in the area of loans, certification and registration; information sharing and logistics support.
Earlier Anna Raas, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden noted that the Pandemic has posed a lot of challenges for businesses and business owners. She commended the women for their resilience despite all odds.
Raas asserted that both men and women have equal rights and must therefore, strive for financial freedom equally. She also said since women constitute half of the population, their empowerment increases a country’s economic growth and development.