UNIDO, foundation launch investment training programme

The UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office Nigeria has partnered with Sterling One Foundation to launch the maiden edition of Gender Lens Investing Training in Nigeria.

A statement said this was as global organisations continued their efforts towards gender equality and equity.

It said the training was held in Lagos, in collaboration with the Sterling One Foundation, to develop the capacity of investment officers in leading financial institutions in Nigeria.

This was to improve women’s access to investments, grants, and other financial instruments to scale their businesses.

“Gender Lens Investing is an impact investment strategy that intentionally integrates gender analysis into investment projects, recognising and harnessing the full potential of women as leaders, innovators, and agents of industrial and environmental change,” it said.

The Head of UNIDO ITPO Nigeria, Ms Abimbola Wycliffe, mentioned in her welcome address that while UNIDO had designed a self-paced course for gender lens investing, hosting an interactive face-to-face training in Nigeria was critical.

She said this made the launch in Nigeria the first physical training on GLI in Africa.

It would be the first of many capacity-building sessions in Nigeria, as UNIDO ITPO Nigeria had prioritised Gender Lens Investing as part of its gender mainstreaming activities, and would be launching a community of practice for GLI after the session.

UNIDO Special Representative for Africa, Deputy Director General, and Managing Director of Global Partnerships and External Relations, Ms Fatou Haidara, 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 by ensuring that gender perspectives were fully integrated into all policies, programmes, and activities.

“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,” she said.

In her address, the Chief Executive Officer of Sterling One Foundation, Olapeju Ibekwe, 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 $42n funding gap between men and women-owned or led businesses in Africa, as estimated by the African Development Bank, which could be a major barrier to economic growth, especially at the micro level where most women operate.