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IWD2020: Women Should Adopt A Paradigm Shift From Competition To Collaboration - Alero Awoyemi

General	1045 VIEWS
General
1045 VIEWS

Sunday, March 08, 2020 / 08.30AM / Nifemi Taiyese for WebTV / Header Image Credit: PFDN

"According to her the empowered woman empowers women".

All over the globe, as women celebrate their special day 2020 which focuses on the theme "Each for Equal", the Executive Director of Proshare Foundation Mrs Alero Awoyemi has called for a paradigm shift from competition to collaboration.

Speaking in an interview with WebTV to mark the day Mrs Awoyemi believed that through collaboration women will be able to tap into the immense opportunities that guarantee a better and balanced nation.

She described women as resilient, cautious, hardworking and focus driven which serves as the tenets for success in business, and a ticker for identifying the major impact they make in the economy.

Speaking further she acknowledged the fact there is a huge gap of financial inclusion in rural areas when it comes to women, as there are no products tailored specifically to reach them.

She harped on the need for Fintechs, Financial Services companies and Investment groups to design products and services that will suit the needs of women in the country.

Looking at the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs she called for more strategic support for women-owned enterprises in the country, from government agencies to financial institutions.

In terms of challenges she identified the following issues facing women in the country;

Issue of Collateral
Knowledge gap
Cultural restrictions
Low self-esteem,
Lack of proper structure in businesses
Poor book keeping records
Lack of Access to Finance

As Nigeria enters a new decade she emphasized the need for an enabling policy environment for female entrepreneurs, who she believed will play a critical role in driving the nation's economy.

For Proshare Foundation Mrs Awoyemi said it has found a huge opportunity of enlightening women through various channels, especially at the grassroot level to ensure they are financial included through the practical solutions the foundation offers.

The foundation is also taking key steps to help the 'rural woman' understand how financial products can help them in their business, and also organizes several advocacy programs to educate the rural woman to have a clearer understanding of the products.

Challenging Statistics On Women Financial Inclusion In Nigeria

Financial Segment	Percentage Representation
Insurance	1% of women in Nigeria have insurance cover
Informal Financial Services	31% rely exclusively on Informal financial services
Formal Financial Services	17% rely exclusively on formal financial services
Savings	76% cannot save because they are not financially empowered.
Financial Inclusion	41% of women in Nigeria are financially excluded as at 2018.

Source:EFINA

She also harped on "Mentorship" which she said will play a big role in the development and transformation of people's lives.

Mrs Awoyemi encouraged young ladies and girls to seek women mentors they can serving as an excellence figure they can look up to.

Proshare Foundation, a non-governmental organization was set up to deliver basic financial solutions through practical research to achieve growth through financial inclusion.