Take advantage of renewable energy, WIMBIZ, All On, urge women
Take
advantage of renewable energy, WIMBIZ, All On, urge women
By Ebunoluwa
Sessou
Chairperson, Women in
Management, Business and Public Service, WIMBIZ, Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo,
has called on women to take advantage of the renewable energy sector to harness
their potential for better productivity and economic stability in the
country.
She made the call during the WIMBIZ CEO Roundtable sponsored by
All On noting that, if more women channel their resources towards renewable
energy, it would enhance their opportunities and give room for gender parity.
With the theme, “Renewable Energy: A Sustainable Path to Power for All”,
she disclosed that, the goal is to see more women contributing positively to
the economy power of Nigeria and beyond. “WIMBIZ is an organization that
has seen this new business space as leverage to engage more women and succeed.
“WIMBIZ has four pillars,
Inspire, Empower, Advocate and Connect and this event allows us to connect with
each other, we empower women by giving them the knowledge and we share lots of
resources for them to abreast themselves on the industries that they are trying
to explore. It also affords them the opportunity to know how to raise funds.
“WIMBIZ is a big pool of women and we connect and work with
various NGOs at different levels. We also do lots of Corporate Social
Responsibilities, CSR, including the ‘Big Sister’ programme which gives us the
opportunity to reach out to students in public schools. We try in our capacity
to work at various levels”, she said.
STEM
According to her, “Renewable energy sector is about getting more
young girls into STEM and what WIMBIZ has done is to work with CEOs to
encourage more girls into STEM.
“We are catalysts that
advocate for policies that would encourage more girls into STEM and we
collaborate with women organizations locally and internationally and the Big
Sister’s programme is to encourage girls to be inspired by some of the female
role models for them to fulfill goals.
“We need the right policy at national level to ensure access to
education for all women and young girls to give room for gender parity.
WIMBIZ’s 20th Anniversary
Speaking on the 20th Anniversary Annual conference, she said,
all plans are on top gear to ensure successful outcome of the programme
including , Big Sister’s event, Legend Ball, Arts and Fashion, Gulf Tournament
as well as Master Classes. The programme is slated for November and the
theme is ‘Celebrating Legacy’, it is a hybrid event”, she said.
In an interview, the Chief Executive Officer, All On, Dr. Wiebe
Boer, hinted that there is need for regulation that would allow the industry to
be properly positioned.
“To reduce the cost of solar installation, there is a need for
lots of equipment to be imported or manufactured in Nigeria on a larger scale
to help individuals grow their businesses.
Loan
Speaking on access to loan, he said, “Individuals seeking access
to loan are frustrated because of bank’s demands. Solar industry is a technology
inclined industry and most of the industries are relatively new and so, we need
the commercial banks to understand that and encourage entrepreneurs to grow
their businesses.
For us, every programme we run is women capacity driven that
priotises gender parity and economic stability.
“We are working with women organizations on awareness to take
the message of STEM to the grassroots”, he added.
For Business Development Manager, ZOLA Electric, Bimpe Adebisi,
the challenge in renewable energy is importation of equipment especially on a
large scale.
“We are trying to bridge the gap of importation so as to be able
to meet our targets. We are optimistic that the renewable energy sector
will thrive. There are a lot of solar import plants currently in Nigeria which
will reduce importation.
“On the long run, we will not need the foreign exchange rate to
dictate the nature of the business. This business is like telecommunications
which is doing well in Nigeria now. It started at a high rate but in the long run,
everybody can afford it. The same way renewable energy will boom in Nigeria.
Power is essential for life”, she said.
Nigeria News
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