BY VICTORIA ONU, ABUJA
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment to disburse 45 per cent of the N75bn Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises survival fund to women entrepreneurs.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, confirmed this on Thursday in Abuja at the unveiling of the Gender Initiative of Commodities and Export Department.
The Fund is a conditional grant aimed at supporting vulnerable micro and small enterprises in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector.
It is expected to save at least 1.3 million jobs across the country and specifically impact on over 35,000 individuals per state.
Speaking at the programme, the minister said the GICED initiative was designed by the Commodities and Export Department, for the promotion of Gender responsiveness.
Katagum said while the initiative would help promote trade and export among women entrepreneurs, a lot still needs to be done in the area of women empowerment in Nigeria.
She said, “The female gender should be equipped and ready to break the glass ceiling and ascend to new positions of power in all spheres of our society, both in the Public and Private Sector.
“For the sake of gender inclusivity, I must also indicate that the same goes for men. Gender issues are cross cutting and both genders, must always be willing to take advantage of opportunities that abound.
“However, women especially need to change old mind-sets, develop their capacities and embrace the notion that they are capable of doing what men can do.
“Women need to work harder at self-development, building capacities, embrace punctuality and actively engage in meaningful programs and activities, without making typical excuses.
“I am confident that this Initiative would serve as one of the many platforms in the advancement of Gender inclusivity, in CED and the Ministry.”
In her remarks at the event, the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, described the initiative as apt, noting that women accounted for 75 per cent of the farming population in Nigeria.
She said though women constituted a large portion of the farming population, their successes in agricultural were hindered by formal and traditional rules.
Generally, she said that the extent of gender involvement in agricultural production varied across ethnic groups with some clear distinctions in activities between them.
The minister said the launch of the gender initiative would provide the much needed intervention and impact in giving equal access to both the male and female in terms of trade in relation to exporting goods and commodities beyond Nigeria.
