‘Nigerian Women Financial Inclusion Project will work’

Mrs Rose S. Gyar is the Director General of Global Centre for Human Development and Entrepreneurship Development (GLOCHEED). In this interview, she talks on how women can build scalable businesses and the Financial System Strategy (FSS2020) which if implemented will support Nigerian Women Financial Inclusion Project (NIWOFIP). How do you think women can make their […]

Mrs Rose S. Gyar is the Director General of Global Centre for Human Development and Entrepreneurship Development (GLOCHEED). In this interview, she talks on how women can build scalable businesses and the Financial System Strategy (FSS2020) which if implemented will support Nigerian Women Financial Inclusion Project (NIWOFIP).

How do you think women can make their businesses scalable?

Women can make their businesses scalable by adopting competitive business processes and adhering to best business practices; by sustaining the quality of their products, retaining their markets, enhancing their capacities and networking with others, while leveraging on stakeholder collaboration and partnerships.

What do you think has been hindering development of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country?

Inadequate capacity to sustain business relationships, poor access to affordable long-term business finance, inappropriate workspaces, poor access to market and market retention, poor governance structures for business sustainability and succession. Poor institutional capacity of women groups to deliver effective services to members through stakeholder partnerships and collaboration to support women businesses; lack of awareness about existing business support structures in both public and private sectors to enhance productivity.

Access to finance has been a major challenge for women entrepreneurs and SMEs, how can they surmount the challenge?

Women can overcome poor access to business finance by forming themselves into a federated unit across economic sectors and social status across national, state/FCT and LGA/AC levels to serve as an advocacy platform to interact with stakeholders with a view to facilitating access to business finance, financial services and other empowerment interventions for women.

The good news is that Financial System Strategy (FSS2020) facilitated this initiative and women have taken up the challenge leveraging on the guidance by FSS2020 to own the process. The national level has been established with 60 identified national women empowerment focused groups across economic sectors, faith based and community based organizations, self-help groups, people with albinism, people with disability as well as NGOs in the first phase.

We are now at the second stage identifying 100 women groups in the same manner in each state/FCT and thereafter 200 groups at the LGA/ACs for an all-inclusive engagement. The purpose is to have identifiable platforms for coordinated engagement with stakeholders with a view to facilitating access to business funds by women.

We are therefore leveraging on the guidance and support of FSS2020 to implement this Nigerian Women Financial Inclusion Project (NIWOFIP).

We strongly believe that if we drive the process ourselves, it will demonstrate to stakeholders that we are prepared to partner for easy access to business finance by women; and are available to monitor our members and provide a feedback for appropriate policy formulation and programmes to empower women.

How can they get quick loans?

Women can get quick loans when we are identifiable, well-structured and coordinated with transparent system and process in place for accountability. This is what we are working towards for the women of Nigeria. And we call on all women to identify their cluster of operation to enable them participate.

We would advocate for technical support to strengthen our institutional capacities and enhance our entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to sustain our businesses in order to enhance our chances of easy access to quick loans at affordable interest rate and conditions. The purpose is to have identifiable platforms for coordinated engagement with stakeholders with a view to facilitating access to business funds by women.

In what way do you think government can support women entrepreneurs in the country?

Government can support women entrepreneurs by providing institutional partnership and collaboration opportunities to the women groups, strengthen institutional capacities through business membership organization platforms for entrepreneurial training and capacity building; patronizing MSME products, appropriate  legislative framework to support easy access to finance by MSMEs generally with a designated percentage reserved for women.

In what ways can we support and improve innovation in Nigeria?

Government can provide guarantee to interested domestic and foreign investors willing to partner with women groups to provide long term affordable business loans to them and MSMEs at large through special purpose vehicles. This is since the banks don’t seem ready to study and understand operations in the MSME subsector to enable them formulate accessible products to suite their purpose, especially producers and processors.

Also, by partnering with the MSME operators through their institutions for proper identification, mentorship and monitoring; and providing appropriate funding windows to be accessed by the innovators and by providing adequate technical support to sustain the innovation through formulation processes to maturity.

As coordinator of women entrepreneurship organisations, what are you doing to help women build capacity?                                                          Our NGO has enhanced women’s entrepreneurial knowledge and skills for business sustainability, facilitated linkages with other stakeholders to enhance their business expansion through networking, provided platform for engagement with stakeholders on business competitiveness, promoted their products for access to markets through exhibitions, organised workshops and seminars to update their knowledge on business techniques, etc.

It is presently serving as secretariat to the Federation of Women Associations in MSMEs (FEDWIM,), Association of Women in Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (AWIMSME) and seven other women groups.

We provide business development service facilitate linkages with facility and services providers, establish partnerships with agencies for operators to leverage on and participate as well as access government programmes.

What should start-ups know when establishing a business in order to survive?

Know the business sector they are going into and studying the operations in the sector, identifying stakeholders in the sector and gathering information about the sector as well as identifying a successful operator to understudy the practical skills needed in the sector, etc.

Tell us about your educational qualification

I had my Advanced Diploma in Public Administration (ADPA) in University of Jos and Advanced Diploma in Applied Psychology (ADAP), Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic (HND) Business Administration and Management, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University(ATBU) Bauchi, Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and Management.

I also attended several short-term courses as a civil servant before my voluntary retirement in 2006, and I am a member and fellow of several professional bodies e.g. Institute of Management Consultants, Institute of Corporate Administrators and Managers etc.

I am also the Managing Director of VINAAG Consult Nigeria Limited, a management consultancy services company.

I am married with biological and adopted children.