40% of women owned businesses affected by COVID-19

•Experts advocate improved credit, micro insurance

By Elizabeth Adegbesan

Experts in the financial sector have advocated improved access to credit facilities and micro insurance for women businesses affected by the COVID’19 pandemic.

Highlighting the impact of  COVID’19 on the economy, they said 40 percent of businesses owned by women at the bottom of the pyramid were affected during the lockdown period and some women suffered violence and  poor health in their quest for means to feed their families.

The experts include who spoke at a media parley on the solution to the impact of the pandemic on women businesses include:  Founder of   Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) Microfinance Bank Limited, Godwin Ehigiamusoe;  Secretary-General of Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Saudatu Mahdi; and  Dr Eleanor Nwadinobi,  a women health activist.

In his presentation, Godwin Ehigiamusoe said that restructuring of loan facilities with an emphasis on disadvantaged women among other things  was needed to stabilize and improve  women owned businesses in the country.

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Also speaking, Saudatu Mahdi, stressed the need for database to enhance access of women businesses to intervention funds said, “One of the issues we have is generation of evidence.

“One of the practical solutions is to be able to generate a database into which from the lowest rank of the society we can input those small scales or those who need support at those levels. With that database,  organizations  like the CBN that have facilities and stimulus packages, and  LAPO can develop measures to support these  categories of women. ”

On her part, Dr Eleanor Nwadinobi,  Women Health Activist said: “A very practical solution is to ensure that women have unfettered access to decent credit without asking for ridiculous collateral. What do I mean by that, for too long women have been associated with what I called microcredit and micro businesses.

‘Some of these businesses and credits are hugely disempowering. We need to have equitable access to credit for men and women. We can’t keep talking about men getting macro loans or getting access to enough resources to get industries. Women are innovative, they are resilient.”

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