The first lady of Ogun State, Dr. (Mrs) Bamidele Abiodun has advised women on basic areas to focus on in order to ensure success in business. She gave this advice while making her presentation as a Keynote Speaker at a recent event hosted by the Covenant University Faculty Women Advance in collaboration with International Federation of Training and Development Organisations (IFTDO) to commemorate International Women’s Day 2022, with the theme, ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’ #breakthebias.

While speaking on the need to advance the cause of women via economic empowerment, Mrs. Abiodun, a Philanthropist and a UN Ambassador on Sustainable Development, stated the need for women to position themselves to accomplish great things through the development of their business ideas and building their God-given visions.

She pointed out the different issues that limits women in their efforts to establish successful businesses, which includes lack of funding, gender discrimination, poor education, etc. However, all these issues could be overcome when there is a determination to succeed. “To run a successful business in Nigeria, you must recognise the importance of networking and maintaining relationships. The men understand that and it is important that women begin to leverage on the importance of relationships to the growth and success of businesses too,” she said.

The First Lady explained that running a successful business as a woman was also understanding how money works; “your money is the lifeline of your business so it is important to get some financial advice and then learn all you can about any venture you wish to go into”.

“One of the factors that leads to success in business is learning how to manage and maintain relationships. Your business depends a lot on your relationships to succeed; that is why successful women have been able to also help other women and guiding them to succeed,” she added.

Mrs. Abiodun applauded Covenant University as having established itself as a robust international sector for intellectual dialogues that impact lives and encourage learning. She thanked the University for always being at the forefront of encouraging conversations that help further gender equality. She also, appreciated the University for recognising the potential of women and constantly giving them opportunities for self-development and expression within the University leadership.

In his remarks at the event, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abiodun H. Adebayo, thanked the Chancellor and Chairman Board of Regents, Covenant University, Dr. David O. Oyedepo for the wonderful platform the University offered to enhance the fate of Africa.

He appreciated all the women present, and pointed out that the role of women in national development and at the home front could not be overemphasised. While noting that women were excellent leaders, he expressed that even the agricultural sector was dominated by women, making one wonder where the men were in the scheme of events.

Professor Adebayo stated that the best that the world could offer women today was to make sure there was gender balance and equality in all areas of the economy. He stated that Covenant University had demonstrated responsiveness to gender-related issues in her recruitment, staff welfare policies, and executive appointments, as the University was committed to providing equal opportunities for all faculty and staff to aspire to higher levels in their careers. 

Earlier in her opening remarks, the Chairman, Covenant University Community Development Impact Initiatives Committee (CU-CDIIC), Dr. Tayo George, expressed her excitement at the high response of women to the call for inclusiveness in this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) event. She appreciated the Management of the University for establishing and encouraging the exercise of different platforms for women’s development and empowerment in the University.

She pointed out significantly, the unwavering support of the University in ensuring gender-friendly management, which had given women in the workforce opportunities to excel. She noted that the IWD event was fully funded by the University Management.

There were presentations from other Guest Speakers during the event which includes Mrs. Caroline Johnson, Managing Director, Sweetyme Ventures; Mrs. Moji Davids, Managing Director, Xtralarge Farms, Ota, etc, as well as Panel Sessions that featured other invited guests and some senior officers of the University.