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NECA women entrepreneurs canvass single-digit loan

By Victor Gbonegun
09 October 2018   |   1:30 am
The NECA Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) has called on the Federal Government to urgently review the 15 per cent interest rate on loans granted its members, to improve participation and eradicate the growing level of poverty among women in Nigeria.

The NECA Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) has called on the Federal Government to urgently review the 15 per cent interest rate on loans granted its members, to improve participation and eradicate the growing level of poverty among women in Nigeria.NNEW is a platform of entrepreneurial women established in 2005 under the aegis of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), to promote issues that are crucial to the thriving of businesses among women.

President of the Association, Mrs. Modupe Oyekunle, who made the appeal in Lagos, said aside other challenges like lack of access to capacity building, cultural factors, and absence of mentoring for women, the 15 per cent loan regime should be reduced to five per cent to boost women’s involvement in the sector.

“Women are looking for single-digit funding and the lenders should not be giving it out under difficult conditions. If you are giving us loan of N20 million at 15 per cent, six-month moratorium and three-year term, no matter how juicy, it’s still not single digit. Also, people who are giving us loan should be able to grant us capacity building to access such loans.”

Oyekunle encouraged women to build themselves by rendering training support rather than seeing one another as adversary.“Women should look for every avenue to push each other up. Change their attitude and be willing to learn from those who have gone ahead of you in business.”

Speaking on its 2018 yearly summit with the theme; “Women, collaborating for growth,” holding this week in Lagos, the chairperson, for the planning committee, Mrs. Olakitan Wellington, defined some of the objectives of the programme. They include promoting dialogue on women inclusion in polity towards economic development, creating robust discussion to unite women accessing funding and empower the businesses of female entrepreneurs.

Wellington said the forum would also enable participants to gain exposure to various venture capital/investment opportunities, and effectively apply government business policies.

“Benefits of the summit to women are, a chance to win a capacity building training at the International Labour Organisation in Italy, exposure on how to register for businesses and free SPA treatment,” she said.According to her, speakers expected at the summit include, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Aisha Abubakar; Director, International Labour Organisation, Country Office,Abuja, Dennis Zulu, and a host of others.

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