The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said the state government is collaborating with the World Bank, Dangote Foundation and other development agencies to provide special support for female entrepreneurs to expand their businesses in the state.
The governor disclosed this when he met with the executives of the Benin Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BENCCIMA) at the Edo Production Centre, in Benin City.
He noted that a team has been constituted to identify and assess the areas of support for businesses owned by women across the 192 wards in the state, adding that the initiative would be finalised within a week to allow for its implementation across the 18 local councils of the state.
“The enumeration of women in business would be done from ward-to-ward to know the type of businesses they do and where they are located because we have found out that women contribute much to the economy of this state,” he added.
He stated that the initiative will assist women in expanding and linking their businesses to the necessary infrastructure and financing to go to scale, noting, “We want to come up with ways to support these female entrepreneurs in terms of infrastructure, connecting roads to the communities where they farm and do their businesses.”