The United Nations has urged the private sector to increase investment in the empowerment of women and girls in the West Africa region.
This appeal came at a high-level regional dialogue with the private sector in Nigeria organized by the UN Women West Africa region, with support from Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) and the Nigeria UN Women Country Office.
The high-level advocacy engagements are coming ahead of the 16 Days of Activism 2023 campaign.
Speaking on this year’s theme, UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls, UN Women’s Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Beatrice Eyong reiterated that the private sector has a critical role to play in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Ms Eyong noted that the UN Women has collaborated with the private sector to create an enabling environment for women to access their full potential as economic actors, driving gender-responsive procurement, increasing access to finance for women business owners, and addressing violence against women and girls.
The dialogue was attended by representatives from Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Sénégal, and Sierra Leone.
