Reserved Seats Bill – What are the Benefits?

Despite remarkable achievements by women across many sectors, positions of leadership through politics, for women in NASS, needs to be improved. Overall representation of women in governance has to be increased to position Nigeria as a Nation demonstrating inclusion, creating space for leadership that is unbiased and the full utilisation of resources for our country.

RESERVED SEATS BILL – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Currently, the Senate consists of 109 Senators, three from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The bill proposes one additional Senator for each state and the FCT, with each woman contesting this Reserved Seat for Women representing her entire state. The House of Representatives comprises 360 members. This bill proposes one additional female member for each state and the FCT, with each woman contesting the Reserved Seat for Women representing her entire state

Breaking Down the Legal Language of the Reserved Seats Bill

The Proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill for Seat Reservation for Women in the National and State Assemblies, as presented by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review, July 2025, has somewhat been at the heart of women in leadership conversations. However, how many young people, especially young women, have the clarity and context required to[…]

The Curious Case of the Reserved Seats Bill – A Demonstration of Leadership.

In academic research to determine the influence of fathers on entrepreneurship abilities, an analysis of an interview of 21 daughters revealed that indeed, their father’s perception does influence the daughters’ entrepreneurial capabilities. In different scientific research to investigate fathers’ impact on children’s academic success, the study affirmed that there is indeed a remarkable positive difference when children gain the academic support of their fathers. Another research on father-daughter vision as a determining factor in family businesses discovered that fathers can create a shared vision with daughters and enable them overcome gender barriers once there is communication and understanding of the daughter’s career interests and path as well as the structural bias she may face.  

Economic Injustice – What does the Financial Ecosystem hold for Women-led Businesses in Nigeria?

The African Development Bank Group notes a $42 billion financing gap for small and medium-sized enterprises owned by African women, posing a significant obstacle to economic development and overall wellbeing. Efforts by Tony Elumelu Foundation, Bank of Industry (BOI), W Initiative by Access Bank, having over 10 banks run by women, women taking ownership and creating ventures that fund women owned business,[…]

‘Invest to Prevent’ against Violence

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women will mark the launch of the UNiTE campaign (Nov 25- Dec 10) — an initiative of 16 days of activism concluding on the day that commemorates the International Human Rights Day (10 December).(UN.Org, 2024). The UNITE campaign has identified 3 points to consider – Revitalise[…]

GENDER MAINSTREAMING LOAN ACCESSIBILITY- SMEDAN Versus SHE VENTURES

There’s still a business development and financial literacy education gap in orientation of start ups and scaling sustainable businesses in Nigeria. While these loans can be a way to support women in businesses, there are factors that still limit Economic Justice such as CAC registration, Tax, Human Capacity, Resources, Security, NAFDAC, Advertising Agency Fees, and then Leadership. Nigeria has more to do, to show accountability and commitment to give women, and push benefit realisation and economic advantage women led businesses bring. The social norms and expectations of women in Nigeria and the economics of Care, are areas that require addressing and long term interventions. 

Gendered Biased Lending Practices limit access to funding for Female-Led and Owned Businesses in Nigeria

Out-of-date, gender-biased lending practices often mean female entrepreneurs are more likely to get higher interest rates, smaller loan amounts and increased penalties for mistakes.

Tackling Gendered Economic Equity in Nigeria.

ddressing these disparities is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and sustainable business environment. Environment of business scalability is also expensive to run with bills, taxes, resources that at are competent with capacity, infrastructure and security requires evaluation when reviewing loans and funding for women led businesses. 

FUNDING WOMEN-LED BUSINESSES- A SURVEY VALIDATION MEETING

Nigeria has a growing – working population that are youth centred, the unemployment and underemployment figures according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), increasing year on year, also shows that women are significantly impacted more than men. The gender implications for women in security, poverty, health, leadership and political representation, is on the rise. While a solution is to create an environment that nurtures everyone inclusively, the economic interventions are still limiting and its impact affects women’s economic power.