Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is looking to drive gender equality and sustainable development in the country through strategic instruments like gender bonds and gender-themed sustainable financing mechanisms.
The local bourse said it hopes to achieve this goal by collaborating with a global organisation like the United Nations Women (UN Women).
According to the Divisional Head of Business Support Services and General Counsel at NGX, Ms Irene Robinson-Ayanwale, there is a need to galvanize public and private sector stakeholders to the development and adoption of gender-responsive instruments in Nigeria’s capital market and mobilise public and private capital towards investments that promote gender equality outcomes, among other focus areas.
“UN Women has been on the forefront of female advocacy, which is a major priority of the work we have been doing with International Finance Corporation on the Nigeria2Equal project,” Ms Robinson-Ayanwale said at a high-level engagement between NGX and UN Women officials during the visit of Dr Maxime Houinato, Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Region (ESARO) and interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa Region (WCARO), to the exchange.
“We are committed to this collaboration with UN Women to deepen impact in the capital market and broader private sector,” she added.
Also, the Head of Product Development at NGX, Ms Chidinma Chukwueke-Okolo, said, “Our collaboration with UN Women will primarily border on capacity building for issuers and investors, specifically for the development of a framework for gender bonds issuance in the Nigerian capital market.”
In his remarks, Mr Houinato stressed the importance of female participation in leadership in the private and public sectors, stressing the necessity of more men in the private sector driving the advocacy for women and also touched on UN Women’s work on female advocacy.
