Business
BoI Partners AfDB On Funding For Women-Owned Businesses
The Bank of Industry says it is currently collaborating with the African Development Bank (AfDB) on the launch and implementation of the 300 million dollars Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA).
Managing Director, BoI, Mr Olukayode Pitan, made this known at the Bank’s webinar themed:” Recognising Wom-en’s Leadership In Enhancing Nigeria’s Covid-19 Recovery” to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Pitan said the AFAWA fund was expected to unlock three billion dollars in private sector financing to empower female entrepreneurs through capacity building development.
He added that the fund would grant women access to finance as well as spearhead legal policy and regulatory reforms to support enterprises led by women.
Pitan said that the bank was also partnering with Islamic Development Bank to implement the Business Resilience Assistance for Value-adding Enterprise (BRAVE) Women Nigeria project.
“BRAVE Nigeria is part of a larger 32.2 million dollars five-year initiative coordinated by the Islamic Development Bank.
“The project combines training and grant-matching to support the growth and resilience of women-led enterprises in spite of their challenging operating environment.
“Furthermore, BOI invest-ed 10 million dollars in the Alitheia Fund, also toward supporting Nigerian women-led businesses, some of which will be export-oriented.
“In addition, the Nigerian Content Intervention (NCI) Fund, a partnership between the BOI and Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has allo-cated 20 million dollars as an intervention fund to women businesses in the oil and gas sector.
“These are just a few of the initiatives the Bank of Industry is engaged in to promote female gender equality, especially as it relates to business financing and support.
“We believe that our support to female entrepreneurship will not only revitalise their businesses during this pandemic, but will enable them to thrive beyond it and close the inequality gap.
“BOI remains committed in our drive to support women; and I encourage other organisations to do the same, because when women win, the society wins,” he said.
The BoI managing director said that the International Women Day (IWD) the-me: ”Choose To Challenge”, highlighted the importance of challenging biases, stereotypes and misconceptions in the interest of creating a more inclusive and gender-equal world.
He said that establishment of the bank’s gender business desk, which catered specifically for female entrepreneurs had successfully disbursed close to N100 billion to over 1,500 women-led enterprises.
“In addition to financial support, the gender desk also provides much needed business advisory and capacity building services, leveraging our strategic partnerships with more than 300 Business Development Service Providers (BDSP) nationwide.
“It is believed that if Nigeria enhances gender equality in the labour market, politics, legal system, education and healthcare, it could add 1.25 percent points to the eco-nomy.
“Despite what we know now, the representation of women at decision making level is still minimal as today, he said.
“There are only 25 countries that have elected women as Heads of State or Government – just about 11 per cent of all countries and territories in the world.
“Beyond participation in the political space, representation of women in the corporate sphere is very much skewed as only eight per cent of Fortune 500 companies are led by females.
“Yes, it is safe to say that we have made progress over the years, yet, it is far from acceptable and insufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goal Five to ‘Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls’.
“The female gender have also been marginalised when it comes to access to finance.
“The gender financing gap in Africa is believed to be 42 billion dollars between men and women.
“This is a worrisome statistic and at the Bank of Industry, we continue to take deliberate steps to address issues around gender equality in entrepreneurship,” he said.
Continue Reading
The Federal Government has approved a whooping $1bn credit facility to support Nigerian exporters and small scale businesses to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in order to boost production, competitiveness and intra-African trade.
The $1bn AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Credit Facility is also expected to address some of the financing gap being faced by Nigerian exporters and enhance the competitiveness of African businesses within the continental market.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, disclosed this during the second quarter 2026 meeting of the AfCFTA Central Coordination Committee held in Abuja.
According to a statement issued by the ministry’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Obilor-Duru Okechi, Oduwole said the financing facility represented a major opportunity for Nigerian businesses seeking to expand operations, modernise production processes and increase exports to African markets.
The statement partly read, “?The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to accelerating Nigeria’s export-led growth agenda under the African Continental Free Trade Area, unveiling opportunities for businesses to access a US$1 billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Credit Facility aimed at boosting production, competitiveness, and intra-African trade.”
She noted that despite the progress Nigeria had made in implementing the continental trade agreement, many local businesses continued to face obstacles that limited their ability to take advantage of the single African market.
?
“Many businesses still face challenges relating to export documentation, certification, standards compliance and market access,” the minister said.
She explained that the Federal Government was addressing these bottlenecks through enhanced trade facilitation measures, simplified AfCFTA guidance tools, stakeholder engagement programmes and stronger collaboration with institutions such as the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council.
Oduwole stressed the need to strengthen Nigeria’s legal and regulatory framework by domesticating key AfCFTA protocols, particularly the Digital Trade Protocol, to position the country as a major player in Africa’s growing digital economy.
The minister also highlighted some of the gains recorded in Nigeria’s AfCFTA implementation efforts.
According to her, the expansion of Nigeria’s Air Cargo Corridor Initiative to Rwanda, increased collaboration with development partners and private sector players, as well as sustained engagement with state governments, were helping to deepen awareness and participation in the continental market.
In her welcome address and first-quarter update, the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, Mrs Patience Okala, provided details of the financing initiative.
Okala said the $1bn AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Credit Facility was targeted at large African businesses with a minimum financing capacity of $10m.
She revealed that the National AfCFTA Coordination Office was working closely with fund managers to facilitate access for eligible Nigerian companies and had begun assembling a pilot group of businesses to ensure that Nigeria maximised the opportunities provided by the facility.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has advised Nigerians against boarding boats that require constant bailing of water in the interest of their safety.
NIWA Area Manager for Cross River and Ebonyi, Mr Stanley Onuoha gave this warning in an interview with Newsmen in Calabar.
Onuoha who spoke on waterway
safety, said that passengers should take responsibility for their safety by inspecting boats before embarking on any journey.
According to him, repeated scooping of water from a boat is a clear indication that the vessel may be leaking.
“If you are entering a boat and see people using a bailer to remove water, it is the first signal that the boat is leaking,” he said.
He urged passengers to check the integrity of boats, including seating arrangements and other visible safety features.
The Manager restated the importance of using safety jackets, saying that damaged jackets may fail during emergencies.
He further said that passengers should ensure that safety jackets were appropriate for their body sizes in order to guarantee effective flotation.
Onuoha reiterated the need for passengers to fill manifests before departure to aid accountability during emergencies.
The NIWA official further advised travellers to monitor weather conditions and avoid boarding boats when the weather is unfavourable.
According to him, poor weather conditions can trigger strong tidal waves capable of affecting small boats commonly used on inland waterways.
He said that waterway journeys should be embarked upon between 6.00a.m and 6.00p.m for clearer visibility.
Onuoha said the Authority had continued to sensitise riverine communities to the need for safety precautions during waterway journeys.
He stated that sustained awareness campaigns and enforcement measures had contributed to safety waterway safety in Cross River.
CHINEDU WOSU