As global organisations continue their efforts towards gender equality and equity, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) Nigeria has launched the maiden edition of Gender Lens Investing Training in Nigeria.
This first-of-its-kind training in Africa was held in Lagos, in collaboration with the Sterling One Foundation, to develop the capacity of investment officers in leading financial institutions in Nigeria to improve women’s access to investments, grants, and other financial instruments to scale their businesses.
Gender Lens Investing (GLI) is an impact investment strategy that intentionally integrates gender analysis into investment projects, recognizing and harnessing the full potential of women as leaders, innovators, and agents of industrial and environmental change.
Ms. Abimbola Olufore Wycliffe, Head of UNIDO ITPO Nigeria, mentioned in her welcome address that while UNIDO has designed a self-paced course for gender lens investing, hosting an interactive face-to-face training in Nigeria was critical. This makes the launch in Nigeria the first physical training on GLI in Africa. She further added that it will be the first of many capacity-building sessions in Nigeria, as UNIDO ITPO Nigeria has prioritised Gender Lens Investing as part of its gender mainstreaming activities and will be launching a Community of Practice for GLI after the session.
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Ms. Fatou Haidara, UNIDO Special Representative for Africa, Deputy Director General, and Managing Director of Global Partnerships and External Relations, highlighted the critical role of financial institutions in advancing gender equality, driving social change, and economic development. In her speech, she reiterated UNIDO’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by ensuring that gender perspectives are fully integrated into all policies, programs, and activities.
She added: “We are proud to launch the Gender Lens Investing initiative in Nigeria, and we recognise the enormous impact that investing in women-led businesses can have on improving a nation’s economic growth and social progress.”
In her address, Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO of Sterling One Foundation, expressed the Foundation’s delight at being a part of this timely session, set against the backdrop of the call to Embrace Equity, the theme of the 2023 International Women’s Day celebration.
She emphasised the need for intentional investment in women to bridge the $42 billion funding gap between men and women-owned or led businesses in Africa, as estimated by the African Development Bank, which can be a major barrier to economic growth, especially at the micro level where most women operate.
She further highlighted that investing in women can yield both social and financial returns and that the full potential of the economy can only be unlocked sustainably by involving both men and women.
The training, facilitated by Ms. Carmen Schuber, a Gender Expert at UNIDO, focused on equipping selected finance professionals in Nigeria with fundamental knowledge about gender issues, linking gender equality to the economy, and providing various case studies to demonstrate the implementation of the diversity-promoting concepts discussed.
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