By Dipo Olowookere
The platform for trading unlisted shares in Nigeria, NASD OTC Securities Exchange, on Thursday, March 5, 2020, held a workshop to discuss ways to make women in the country have access to capital.
The programme was held in commemoration of the International Women’s Day and it was in collaboration with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Stakeholders in the capital market in Nigeria gathered at the Commerce House, Idowu Taylor, Victoria Island, Lagos for the event, which had experts in attendance.
The forum, which was themed Equal Access to Capital, focused on addressing the major challenge, access to finance, faced by women in business.
The theme was predicated on the result of a survey carried out by NASD on women in business across various industries in Nigeria in which an overwhelming majority of respondents identified access to finance as a major challenge.
In her keynote address, co-founder of Sahel Consulting, AACE Foods and founder of LEAP Africa, Mrs Ndidi Nwuneli, emphasised why female entrepreneurs should be given equal access to capital.
She explained that women know how to manage funds and if given the opportunity to get funding, would make the economy great because of the multiplier effect they could get.
After her speech, there was a panel discussion comprising women leaders from various industries. They used the occasion to share their personal experience on challenges encountered in business and also proffer practical solutions to other business owners at the forum.
On its part, NASD said in its capacity as a securities exchange will continue to encourage women in business and facilitate ease of access to capital via its products and service offerings.
