FIIRO Spotlights Women Entrepreneurs’ Role In Economy

THE Director General of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO), Mrs. Gloria Elemuo has said that Nigeria needs the contribution of women entrepreneurs in realising its goal of becoming the leading economy in Africa.

Elemo said while declaring open the first conference of the African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP), Nigeria Chapter at the Centre for Women Development (CDC), Agege, Lagos on Thursday.

At the two day conference, tagged “Dynamics of Food Export Potential for the Nigerian Women, the Director General who observed that Nigeria is blessed with human capacity it “is not using it but that is what AWEP is tapping today” also disclosed that FIIRO is training over 100 northern women in Kunu Zadi production and packaging.

AWEP, which is a Hillary Clinton initiative from the office of the President of the United States of America, was launched in July, 2010 at the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum in Zambia.

In her speech titled, “The uncertainty of Nigeria and you must never give up,” former Ambassador of Nigeria to Zambia, Mrs. Folake Maccus-Bello, an AWEP board member who also represented the chairman of AWEP, Hajia Memuna Ali, charged the women not to give up in the face of the numerous challenges facing the Nigerian entrepreneur.

The Nigerian chapter president, Mrs. Yemisi Iranloye said the purpose of the programme is “to enlighten women entrepreneurs, provide linkage for women to know where to go to get assistance and be able to move their businesses to the next level, expand their economic frontiers and probably export and earn more money.”