By Ebunoluwa Sessou

One of the keypoints of the 15th annual lecture of Women in Management, Business and Public Service, WIMBIZ, which held last week was the fact that there is not enough funding for women to venture into bigger businesses in the country.

*From left:WIMBIZ Annual Lecture Moderator, Didi Akinyelure; founding member, Board of Trustees, Ifeoma Idigbe; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Funmi Roberts, keynote speaker and Founder, Bolanle Austen-Peters Production and Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austin-Peters; founding member, Board of Trustees (WIMBIZ) & Partner, TLCOM Capital, Dr. Omobola Johnson; founding member, Board of Trustees (WIMBIZ) & CEO, DO.II Designs, Ifeyinwa Ighodalo at the WIMBIZ 15th Annual Lecture held at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

This particular issue as explained has hindered thousands of women who probably might have become employers of labour still seen doing petty businesses that could not sustain them.

In her opening remark, Olubunmi Aboderin-Talabi, the current Chairperson of WIMBIZ Executive Council advocated for a more balanced and diverse society. She congratulated the first female deputy governor of Kaduna State, Her Excellency, Hadiza Balarabe, as she also stated that WIMBIZ will continue to advocate for the inclusion of women in management, business and public service.

Aboderin-Talabi pointed out that the topic for this year’s edition was designed to encourage women to overcome doubts. “The lecture was aimed at addressing gender balance issues in Nigeria and the limitations that currently exist towards achieving it with solutions on how to overcome them. The lecture also seeks to equip delegates with insight into the advantages of a balanced society, outlining its necessity and the role each individual plays towards a brighter and better future,” she said.

The keynote speaker at this year’s annual lecture, Bolanle Austen-Peters, Founder & CEO, Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions & Terra Kulture, said most women have settled for less hence unable to make a difference in their world.

Speaking to over 500 high profile women in management, business and public service on the theme: Balance for Better, Who said so?, Austen-Peters explained that: “Women are more averse to borrowing; we are more careful and that poses a challenge in some cases because men go for the bigger pile. So, a lot of women end up doing petty businesses as opposed to big businesses. I think we need to break out of our shell. I think we are fearful by nature and we need to overcome that.

“It is tough to raise funds but institutions like the Bank of Industry are supportive and I advocate that women approach the likes of the BoI and other development institutions for funding,” she said.

She urged women to be bolder, saying although more could be done for women, they still owed it to themselves to do what was good for them regardless of what life or society throws at them.

Sharing her experience and how she has broken through the gender balance issues to be successful in business, she said: “Women need to come together and support themselves. We need more enlightenment programmes and initiatives for women and to support each other.

“Challenge is a gender trait and it is quite difficult for women. Women are more averse to borrowing, so lots of women end up doing petty business. Men go for bigger businesses. Women are more careful such that they would not want to take the risk.”

Speaking on politics, Austen-Peters said: “Women are the majority in Nigeria, there is no reason they cannot be involved in politics. Some of us have decided to stay by the side. They should start getting involved. We need to do a lot more and we believe  nobody is capable of stopping us. We need to support ourselves,” she advised.

Concluding her lecture, Bolanle Austen-Peters shared some key guidelines that would help every

woman in the room to achieve success in their various endeavours. They include: persistence, consistency, innovation, and allowing one’s dreams to evolve. The lecture ended with a question and answer session moderated by Didi Akinyelure, Business Correspondent at Thomson Reuters.

The chairperson of the occasion, Foluso Gbadamosi, said the speaker was able to pass on the message to women by using her experience.

“I believe we should learn to keep pushing against all odds. She had so many experiences that helped her through her journey. I love the point that she used real life experiences to explain her points. When you have a vision, you should learn to keep pushing, even if the society is not supporting you, you should learn to be tolerant,” she said.