CGE Africa advocates mentorship, funding for women-led mining, agricultural enterprises

By Angela Atabo

Center for Gender Economics in Africa (CGE Africa), a women’s forum, has advocated for mentorship and funding for women-led enterprises that are involved in the mining and agriculture sectors.

The group’s Programme Manager, Regina Solomon, made this known on Monday in a statement issued after a Consultative Forum in Ilorin, Kwara.

The forum is part of an ongoing National Research on Increasing Renewable Energy Investments for the Empowerment of Women in Sustainable Agriculture and Lithium Mining in West Africa (IREEWAM).

According to Solomon, the call is necessary in order to stem gender disparity and encourage more women in the aforementioned sectors.

“The consultative forum in Ilorin, Kwara State, was aimed at strengthening women’s participation in sustainable agriculture and lithium mining.

“The forum called for the provision of gender-friendly equipment and training, as well as stronger advocacy and visibility for women in extractive and agricultural value chains,” she said.

Solomon said the forum, which was attended by stakeholders from government ministries, civil society organisations, and women associations across the state, was solution-oriented, with calls for targeted government interventions.

She added that the consultative forum was grounded in community experience, which was a crucial step in ensuring that CGE Africa’s research is informed by real-life experiences of women in mining and agriculture.

“The forum was an avenue to listen, learn, and work together towards practical and sustainable solutions.

“It also provided a platform for robust engagement on the structural challenges faced by women in mining and agriculture,” she said.

Solomon said that discussions revealed persistent barriers to women’s full inclusion in the said sectors.

She said the discussions included land ownership inequalities, insecurity, gender discrimination, and lack of access to finance and modern tools, to the absence of gender-sensitive technologies and poor rural infrastructure.

The programme manager said participants also highlighted the challenges of limited technical capacity and the urgent need for mechanised support to ease the physical burden of agricultural work.

Mrs Olusola Odediji, Women in Mining Association’s representative, called for greater visibility and support from policymakers and the private sector to enable women to thrive and contribute meaningfully to sustainable development.

She called for collaboration across sectors from government to private industry and non-governmental organisations to ensure women were involved in Nigeria’s energy transition and resource governance efforts.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum is a pioneering initiative to link gender-responsive renewable energy solutions with the realities of women in key productive sectors.

It provides a platform for a robust engagement on the structural challenges faced by women in mining and agriculture.

NAN also reports that the highlight of the event was the unveiling of surveys specifically targeting women in agriculture and mining, and a broader citizen survey on renewable energy use.

There were also a series of key informant interviews with policymakers and sector experts by CGE Africa. (NAN)