EDEN Advances Women Empowerment at Gender and Inclusion Summit 2024

Funke Olaode

Eden Venture Group, a member of the WEE Policy Catalyst Fund cohort led by Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG), played a key role at the recently held Gender and Inclusion Summit 2024 (GS24) in Abuja by the Policy Innovation Centre. The #WEEliftNaija initiative, spearheaded by EDEN at the summit themed: “Reimagining Gender Inclusive Pathways and Partnerships for Poverty Reduction” explored critical strategies for empowering women across Nigeria.
Hosted through an interactive booth, the initiative engaged attendees in discussions on how the WEE policy addresses economic inequality as stakeholders called for accelerated domestication of the WEE policy across Nigeria’s 36 states.
The keynote address by Greta Bull, Director of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was one of the highlights of the event. While praising Nigeria’s new WEE policy, Bull stressed the urgency of its nationwide implementation to close gender gaps in economic participation. “The WEE policy is a strong blueprint for lifting Nigerian women and girls in sectors like agriculture, entrepreneurship, and emerging industries,” she stated.
Another key moment was the fireside chat led by Rinmicit Temlong, Gender Lead, Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG), which featured the First Lady of Kwara State and Chair of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum (NGSF), Ambassador Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq. She pointed out Kwara State’s pioneering efforts in implementing empowerment programmes for women ahead of the domestication, citing success stories in women’s leadership and financial independence plans empowering thousands of women.
“We’ve launched social investment programmes, providing funds to over 10-20 thousand women, helping them actively participate in the state’s economy and demonstrating ongoing WEE implementation,” Abdulrazaq said.
According to the Minister for Arts, Culture & the Creative Economy, Hon. Hannatu Musawa, there is need to know how the different policies are empowering women. “We need to map the impact as to how different initiatives, programmes and policies really impact women and that way we have a mapping structure as to where we need to concentrate to continue to empower women,” Musawa submitted.
Speaking during the session, “Communicate to Activate: Transforming Policy into Progress” at the event, Fifehan Osikanlu, Founder/CEO of Eden Venture Group, said: “We’re collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to ensure this policy is domesticated across states, driving financial inclusion and gender-responsive budgeting, among other key issues.”
Contributing to the conversation, Folu Storms, a media personality and WEE Champion, encouraged men to support gender equality actively. “Feminism isn’t a dirty word,” she said, before adding: “Empowering women benefits everyone, including men.”