{"id":515742,"date":"2025-10-21T01:06:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T01:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/515742\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T01:06:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T01:06:20","slug":"aisha-babangida-urges-fg-states-to-adopt-inclusive-procurement-reforms-thisdaylive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/515742\/","title":{"rendered":"Aisha Babangida Urges FG, States to Adopt Inclusive Procurement Reforms\u00a0 \u2013 THISDAYLIVE"},"content":{"rendered":"

* Cites Kaduna model as blueprint for national growth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja<\/p>\n

Founder of the Women Entrepreneurs Association (WenA), Aisha Babangida, has urged the federal and state governments to emulate Kaduna State\u2019s gender-inclusive procurement reforms, describing them as a model for driving national growth and women\u2019s economic empowerment.<\/p>\n

Speaking in Abuja Saturday at the 5th WenA SME Conference, themed \u2018Policy Reforms and Resilience Strategies for SMEs in a New Economy,\u2019 she praised the Affirmative Action Procurement Reform Initiative led by UN Women with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).<\/p>\n

Ms Babangida noted that the Kaduna model, which reserves a percentage of public contracts for women-led businesses, waives registration fees and ensures female representation on procurement boards, has demonstrated that inclusive procurement is not just an economic strategy; it\u2019s a catalyst for national development.<\/p>\n

According to her, \u201cKaduna\u2019s model is proof that when we open doors for women entrepreneurs, we unlock prosperity for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

She revealed WenA\u2019s new initiative will train and certify women entrepreneurs to access procurement opportunities, urging policymakers to \u201cmove from dialogue to action\u201d and replicate Kaduna\u2019s reforms nationwide.<\/p>\n

She further underscored that reducing unpaid care work, promoting care-responsive policies, and empowering women economically are \u201cessential pillars for unlocking Africa\u2019s economic potential\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She commended UN Women Nigeria\u2019s advocacy and highlighted the need for sustained collaboration between government, private sector and civil society to strengthen women\u2019s participation in the formal economy.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on WenA\u2019s journey, Babangida recalled the organization\u2019s early challenges navigating regulatory systems, taxes and compliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cPassion alone was not enough,\u201d she said. \u201cWe saw how complex policies can discourage even the most determined entrepreneurs. That\u2019s why advocacy is essential to ensure systems support, not stifle, innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representing the Presidency, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development, Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Ms. Chalya Shagaya, reaffirmed government\u2019s commitment to reducing the cost of doing business under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen-owned SMEs are at the heart of our economy. Through fiscal harmonization, energy reforms, and affordable financing, the administration is working to ensure Nigerian entrepreneurs not only survive but thrive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Also speaking, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) representatives outlined key fiscal reforms under the new Nigerian Tax Reform Agenda, including the Tax Administration Act, which simplifies tax compliance, harmonizes levies and exempts SMEs with turnover below N100 million from income tax, effective January 2026.<\/p>\n

From the development sector, UN Women Nigeria, represented by Patience Ekechukwu, emphasized that although women constitute 43% of Nigeria\u2019s micro and small enterprise owners, most remain under-capitalized and excluded from the formal economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge is not visibility but transformation,\u201d Ekechukwu said. \u201cWe must strengthen the link between policy and implementation to ensure inclusion translates into measurable economic impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

She urged stronger collaboration between government, the private sector, and women-led associations such as WenA to close the gender gap in access to finance, infrastructure and digital inclusion.<\/p>\n

The conference, attended by policymakers, development partners, and industry leaders, concluded with a renewed call for gender-responsive policy execution, fiscal incentives, and inclusive procurement frameworks to make Nigeria\u2019s business environment more equitable and globally competitive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"* Cites Kaduna model as blueprint for national growth Kuni Tyessi in Abuja Founder of the Women Entrepreneurs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3094],"tags":[51,3134,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-515742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-entrepreneurship","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115409478196795590","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}