In a statement on Tuesday, the founder of the organisation, Ezinne Ezeani, opined that with more women being empowered through education, relevant skillsets, and exposure to the dynamics of leadership, Nigeria will reap tremendous benefits through their contributions to national development.
A social impact group known as SheCan Nigeria has said that investment in the empowerment and development of women across every sphere will help reduce poverty, gender inequality and other pertinent problems in Nigeria.
In a statement on Tuesday, the founder of the organisation, Ezinne Ezeani, opined that with more women being empowered through education, relevant skillsets, and exposure to the dynamics of leadership, Nigeria will reap tremendous benefits through their contributions to national development.
According to Ezeani, whose group will on May 24 in Lagos bring together over 4,000 women at an empowerment conference featuring renowned social inclusion advocates like Fela and Tara Durotoye, Shaffy Bello, Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, TY Bello, and others, Nigerian women can pursue their dreams and become all they want to be with the right type of support from relevant quarters.
Despite making up 49 per cent of Nigeria’s population, women have continued to face discrimination in every form because of their gender.
According to a 2016 United Nations Development Program study, Nigeria is among the countries with the highest gender inequality in human development outcomes.
To help address this issue, the World Bank in June 2023 approved $500 million to support the Nigerian Government in improving the livelihoods of women across the country under the Nigeria for Women Program Scale Up.
The investment was aimed at providing better economic opportunities for women, guaranteeing better education, health, and nutrition outcomes for families.
Ezeani noted that the quality of experts pencilled down for the empowerment conference will further help escalate the clamour for gender balance in the country to the highest level.
She said, “It is for this reason that the women empowerment conference on May 24 in Lagos is very important to us because we are confident that it will be a day to inspire and transform the lives of Nigerian women to know that they can do more, achieve their dreams, and reach their full potential.
“More exciting for us because we have some partners who would be giving out scholarships and business grants worth millions during the conference.”
Also speaking on the drive to empower more Nigerian women for national development, Chief Executive Officer of Optiva Capital Partners, Jane Kimemia said, “This conference provides inspiration to the younger generation and enables us to tell our stories to liberate other women to become all they can.”