UK to fund Nigerian women-owned businesses with $100m

Women-owned businesses in Nigeria will receive $100 million worth of investment from the United Kingdom, British high commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, has revealed.

The funding is in line with effort to ensure gender equality in the country, also implement UK’s three ‘Es’ projects, that seeks to educate girls, empower women, and end violence against women and girls.

Laing revealed some details of the investment on Wednesday at the gender and inclusion summit organised by the Policy Innovation Center, (PIC), in Abuja.

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“The UK has three areas focusing on gender. The three ‘Es’ included educating girls, empowering women and ending violence against women and girls,” she told people at the summit.

The commissioner also stated that, “The UK has worked on education for decades now, particularly in north-east Nigeria where we have supported 1.4 million additional girls going to school.

“On the empowerment side, we recently launched a $100 million programme through the First bank of Nigeria which will [provide] direct funding specifically to women-owned enterprises.”

Also speaking at the event, the United States ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, said prioritising gender equality is key, and the American government invests $200 billion annually to close gender gaps through gender programmes.

Leonard stated, “In Nigeria, the US mission works to promote an environment that supports women’s success and address challenges that hold women back and to empower Nigerian women to do the same.”

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