By Christian George
As Access Bank marks its 2023 International Women’s Day on Thursday in Lagos, stakeholders have called for effective representation of women in the workplace.
Delivering a keynote address with the theme: “Embrace equity,” the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina said the bank had the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs in the world.
In a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, Adesina said that in many African countries women were responsible for most of the agricultural production.
“Women in businesses are on the rise across the country and have contributed significantly to job creation and economic growth.
“Women are bankable. It is, however, believed that women in Africa continue to face a fallen two billion dollars finance gap. How do we explain that? There are inbuilt gender-based biases against women in terms of access to finance,” he said.
He commended the bank’s commitment to empowering women and closing the gender gap in African countries.
He explained that “by investing in women, we create a ripple effect that positively impacts the entire community.”
In a related development, the wife of the Vice-President of Nigeria, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, frowned against the stigmatisation of women in society.
Mrs Osibanjo noted that many women had achieved great heights in society despite challenges, adding that such a conference was a forum for women to talk about issues affecting them.
“Surely their successes will give validation to the dreams of others; those who are here and those who are online,” Mrs Osibanjo added.
