Ben Uzor Jr
Women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, shut out of the global
market due to poor access to relevant information required to make effective
decisions, drive profitability and growth of their businesses can now reach
their full economic potential. The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (CBFW), in
strategic partnership with Nokia West Africa and MTN, has strengthened the
capacity of women entrepreneurs through the introduction of a new information
service that would provide essential business tips and practical advice on how
to start and run a successful business to female entrepreneurs in the country
via their mobile phones. However, the service dubbed ‘Business Women’ will be
the latest addition to the Nokia Life service portfolio.
With Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) accounting for
over 90 percent of Nigeria’s employment, industry watchers told Benuzorreports
at the launch of the service that assisting more women in the country run
successful and profitable businesses is a great way of empowering and enabling
personal improvement that benefits not just the individual, but their children,
family and society in general. Cherie Blair, founder of CBFW told journalists
that women entrepreneurs are faced with significant barriers to scaling up
their businesses, including access to affordable resources, marketing channels
and training inputs.
According to Blair the new information service aims to
address this imbalance by providing essential entrepreneurship tips, delivered
via SMS to mobile phones with the Nokia Life service. Women entrepreneurs
present at the launch of the service expressed optimism that the new
information service would assist them in overcoming some of the social and
economic barriers preventing women from reaching their economic potential.
Research conducted by the CBFW, supported by the ExxonMobil showed that 93
percent of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria were willing to use value added
mobile service to address the core challenges they face in their business.
75 percent of them felt that addressing these challenges
would lead to a significant increase in value of their business. “Giving women
the chance to become financially independent and make the most of their talents
is the key to higher living standards for them and their families. “With the
extensive reach of ‘Business Women’ through Nokia Life and content tailored
especially for Nigeria women entrepreneurs, this new service has the potential
to empower thousands of women business owners.”
Industry analysts however told Benuzorreports, that the
introduction of the service was indeed a welcome development. According to
them, while computers and the internet allow women to build entrepreneurial
success, mobile phones have the most potential because their portability and
ease of use make them a particularly friendly tool to support women’s business
growth. James Rutherford, vice president of Nokia West Africa explained that by
partnering with CBFW and MTN Group to make ‘Business Women’ service a reality
was indicative of Nokia’s commitment towards connecting people to new
opportunities, including making women a larger part of the next billion of
people to be connected.
“Nokia Life is by far the world’s largest mobile information
service suite helping consumers in emerging markets learn, live and share
information better. The foundation invests in women entrepreneurs to build and
expand their businesses, and in doing so, benefit not only them but also their
families and communities. We are delighted to partner with the foundation to
provide Nigerian women with the best information available to help their
businesses.
Besides, the ‘Business Women’ service will be available
for free, for the first six months, to Nokia Life users who are also currently
subscribed to MTN Nigeria. The service does not require 3G or GPRS. “We are
very concerned about gender empowerment, data and enriching lives. We recognise
the power women bring to the table. We are also aware that by providing this
application to the right people, it has the potential to enrich many people’s
lives” Akinwale Goodluck, corporate service executive, MTN concluded.
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