By Chidi Ugwu
No fewer than 62 per cent of Nigerian women say the lack of capital have hindered their ambitions to start or expand their own businesses, a new study by Gates Foundation has revealed.
The new study, which was unveiled during a webinar tagged: ‘Women’s Economic Empowerment Media Conversation’ also revealed that 34 per cent of Nigerian women want to own or expand their businesses.
The study further revealed the top three areas of interest for 15% of Nigerian women to include agriculture, fashion and food, adding that access to land is a great obstacle for women in agriculture due to cultural practices.
“For women in agriculture, the biggest obstacle is access to land due to cultural practices.
The top three areas of interest for 15% of Nigerian women are agriculture, fashion and food.For women in agriculture, the biggest obstacle is access to land due to cultural practices”.
The webinar centered discussions around exploring practical solutions to challenges faced by women in businesses identifying several obstacles that required stringent efforts from various stakeholders to solve.
Among these are the fact that many Nigerian women face difficulties in obtaining loans due to lack of collateral, discriminatory practices, and limited financial literacy, restricting their ability to start or expand businesses.
Other are that balancing domestic responsibilities with business activities limits the time women can dedicate to their enterprises, often resulting in low profit, and also about 15% of Nigerian women identify inadequate training and lack of sponsorship as significant barriers to entrepreneurship.
Also, gender discrimination, unreliable power supply, and insecurity are cited by 6% of women as major obstacles to business sustainability,while it was generally agreed that deep-rooted cultural expectations and patriarchal systems hinder women’s access to resources, decision-making roles, and economic opportunities.
Some of the speakers harped on the need for persistent media campaigns that highlight the need to work on the identified obstacles, insisting that to improve the nation’s economy women must be encouraged to be in businesses.
According to them, there is need for the Central Bank of Nigeria and deposit money banks to work out solutions for giving out loans to women without less stringent demands for collateral.
Others also suggested that banks should accept third party collateral which appears difficult for women to provide.
