The United Nations Women says women entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises play vital roles in sustaining Nigeria’s economy by contributing significantly to employment, innovation, and national development.

Beatrice Eyong, UN Women country representative to Nigeria, said this in Abuja at the fifth Conference of the Women Enterprise Alliance.

Ms Eyong said that women-led enterprises were driving growth, creating jobs, and reducing poverty across communities in spite of persistent challenges.

“Nigeria’s economy rests firmly on the shoulders of small and medium enterprises. According to the SMEDAN and NBS 2023 survey, MSMEs make up 96.7 per cent of all businesses, contribute 49 per cent of national GDP and employ more than 84 per cent of the labour force.

“Within the sector, women own about 43 per cent of micro and small enterprises, yet most of these are in the informal economy, undercapitalised, underprotected and often overlooked in formal policy and financial systems,” she said.

Ms Eyong said that while women were visible in enterprise, they remained largely excluded from the impacts and growth that expanded productivity, competitiveness, and wealth. According to her, only 23 per cent of women-owned businesses in Nigeria have access to formal credit compared to 34 per cent of women-owned businesses.

This, she said, was a critical factor limiting women from pushing their businesses forward.

Ms Eyong said that many women entrepreneurs operated in environments constrained by poor infrastructure, limited internet access, and regulatory bottlenecks, which called for actionable interventions.

She said that there was a need to promote inclusion for women and strengthen the link between policy formulation, implementation, and accountability.

Ms Eyong said that in every stage of policy making, women needed to be involved and visible to bridge the gap and ensure gender-responsive financial mechanisms, from micro-credits to venture capital, to empower women entrepreneurs.

She, however, commended Nigeria’s policy commitments, especially the National Gender Policy 2021-2026, the National Policy on MSMEs, and the National Development Plan 2021-2025 for making gender provisions.

Ms Eyong noted that the policies recognised women’s economic empowerment as a cross-cutting enabler within the framework, a development she described as impressive.

President Bola Tinubu commended the organisers for choosing a theme that reflected current national and economic realities.

Mr Tinubu said that the conference’s focus reflected the realities of Nigerian entrepreneurs and highlighted the vital role of women-owned enterprises in job creation, innovation, and developing local solutions with global relevance.

“Rising operational costs, from energy to logistics to finance, continue to constrain growth and reduce competitiveness. This administration understands these challenges, and that is why under the Renewed Hope Agenda, enterprise development has been placed at the centre of Nigeria’s economic transformation strategy.

“This is with a deliberate focus on reducing the costs of doing business and creating an environment where SMEs can thrive and scale sustainably,” he said.

Mr Tinubu said that the government, through the Presidential Power Initiative and Rural Electrification Agency’s renewable programmes, was expanding affordable, reliable electricity access to reduce costly alternatives and boost entrepreneurial productivity nationwide.

He said that his administration, through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council and ongoing fiscal harmonisation reforms, was easing regulatory and tax burdens by simplifying compliance and eliminating multiple levies affecting SMEs.

According to him, this administration is creating a more enabling environment for SMEs to thrive and remains committed to helping entrepreneurs fully harness the vast potential of Nigeria’s economy.

Mr Tinubu urged entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators to sustain the momentum in business by aligning with government directives aimed at translating economic policies into tangible prosperity for all Nigerians.

(NAN)