The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has disbursed more than N98 billion to female entrepreneurs in Nigeria as at last month.
Managing Director of the bank, Mr Tony Okpanachi, made this known in Abuja recently when the bank celebrated the International Women’s Day.
Okpanachi stated that “gender equity is crucial to meeting development goals, reducing human suffering, and solving our biggest environmental problems”.
Women across the world, he said, “continue to suffer from gender inequality, including child labour, forced marriages, gender-based violence, sexist policies, as well as barriers to participation in education and employment”.
Okpanachi identified the stereotypes and biases that women have to contend with to include “Women Can’t Be Leaders; Women Are Irrational; Women Can’t Handle Huge Responsibilities and many more”.
For a society to make progress, Okpanachi stated: “We must challenge these preconceived notions.”
As Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, DBN, he said he has led “a team that is deliberately breaking these biases”.
This, he said, “is anchored on the appreciation and recognition of the strategic role women play as reliable builders of micro, small, and medium scale enterprises, a segment we are mandated to provide funding to”.
Okpanachi noted: “It is admirable that we are now challenging these biases, especially in the workplace; we must also be aware of the unintended consequence of this new level of openness and embrace it with optimism instead of fear.”