President of the Bonny Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BOCCIMA), Lawrence Jumbo says the goal of the chamber’s business inclusion drive was to create more business moguls, especially, among the women.
Jumbo said this on Saturday, March 20, 2021 during a Business Seminar with the theme: “Women Inclusion in Business” in Bonny, Rivers State, Nigeria jointly organized by BOCCIMA and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Represented by his Vice, Vincent Furo, who is a former President of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Jumbo stated that women have the innate resources to achieve whatever they aspire to, urging them to take advantage of the various opportunities being availed them by the chamber.
“Let me congratulate the women. Today is a special day and I will also advise that those women in business to take this programme very seriously. You have all it takes to be one of the Dangotes of Nigeria.”
He explained that the NACCIMA Business Women Group (NAWORG), which is the women wing of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), was established with a view to expanding the scope of opportunities for women and enhance their capacity to compete with their male counterparts.
“The essence of NAWORG when it was created was to give women, especially, those in small business to have their way in the chamber movement. So, it was to serve as a kind of support, training, etc., to enable the women compete in businesses with their male counterparts.”
He commended the Director General of BOCCIMA, Constance Nwokejiobi, for the success of the two day event, and expressed appreciation to the Chairperson of NAWORG, Rivers State Chapter, Oriaku Oyet-Ile for her support to the chamber and the insight she has continued to provide the chamber in its quest to build the capacity of women businesses in Bonny LGA.
In her remarks, Director General of BOCCIMA, Constance Nwokejiobi said the essence of the Marketplace, a mini trade fair, which was part of the events to mark the 20201 International Women’s Day, was to showcase women businesses in Bonny LGA, with a view to reinforcing its advocacy for women inclusion in the business space.
“BOCCIMA has 28 women businesses out of the total 90 registered businesses in the chamber. We have decided to give women an opportunity to showcase their businesses. The marketplace is an opportunity to showcase the businesses.”
“These women have started doing things so we have to give them the platform to be able to showcase their products and services and to be able to scale up. The essence of the Marketplace is to showcase these businesses to the world so that we can be able to compete globally.”
Nwokejiobi harped on the theme of the 2021 international Women’s Day, ‘Choose to Challenge’, stressing that women were challenging inclusion in business decisions, maintaining that it had become imperative for decision makers in the public and private sectors to be intentional about assuring inclusivity for women in the business space.
“Women are actually challenging inclusion in business decisions, we are saying if you have 100% in your contracting space, allow 30 or 40 or 50% or whatever; let there be a dedicated aspect of it for women, that is inclusion in the business space. Consciously and strategically set it out that let the women be able to partake.”
“To register with the Bonny Chamber of Commerce, you have to have your CAC documents, your financial records and it is a notarized chamber meaning that credibility and integrity are entrenched here.”
In her remarks, the Rivers State Coordinator of the NACCIMA Business Women Group (NAWORG), Oriaku Oyet-Ile, an architect by profession, stated that NAWORG is focused on empowering women in business with the right managerial skills to leverage investment opportunities to grow their businesses.
“NAWORG is a platform for capacity to improve women businesses. Our aim is that as we come together we leverage on the strength of NACCIMA which cuts across business organizations, trade groups, even professional associations. The women in chambers should come together and get benefits for their strength.”
“Nobody hands anybody anything on a platter of gold, if you want something, you go for it. In most cases where people are complaining that ‘oh they didn’t do this, they didn’t do that’, what did you come for? What do you want and what are you willing to put out to get what you want? NAWORG is a platform for that and we will see how we can maximize the various opportunities.”
The Keynote Speaker and Community Content Manager, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Sarah Ajose-Adeogun, in her presentation titled, ‘Local Content Supplier Diversity’ outlined the various opportunities available in the business space, especially, in the Oil and Gas sector of the economy, urging them to maximize these to bolster their stake in the business world.
Ajose-Adeogun stated that SPDC was leveraging on various legal and other frameworks instituted by the government to ensure women inclusion in the business space such as the Nigerian oil and Gas Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010 and the Community Content Guidelines (CCG) of the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), among others.
According to her, SPDC was committed to ensuring women inclusion across the spectrum of its business environment, stressing, however, that the women must take their chances and compete favourably with the men, pointing out that “we won’t distinguish between men and women but if the women step up we will give them the same consideration we will give the men, but they have step up and step into the game”.
President of the Nigeria LNG Residential Area (RA) Ladies Association, Grace Ikufisile congratulated the women for putting together such a wonderful event, expressing optimism that the women would continue to take advantage of the various opportunities being availed by BOCCIMA.
The Marketplace, a mini trade fair for women businesses, which was declared open by the Vice Chairman of Bonny LGA, Anengi Barasua, started on Friday and ran through Saturday, ending with the Business Seminar with the theme: ‘Business Inclusion’.
On display were goods and services participating businesses such as Aries Flair Resources, a drink shop located at Ukpo Avenue; Zenith Bank; Peterside-Ama Bluejack Women Cooperative; Jevidac Nigeria Ltd, promoters of Norland Wellness Products and Multilevel Marketing Scheme; Elfranti (Nigeria) Limited, an indigenous oil and gas company; Isafred Limited, a catering company; and De Gracious Body Wrap; a construction company.
Others were Debby001, a fashion outfit specializing in sales and supplies of shoes and ladies’ handbags; Rigforms Nigeria Limited, an indigenous oil and gas company; Ajtec Quick Delivery Services, an indigenous fabrication and gas supplies company; and F. Amethyst Global Limited, an indigenous engineering, procurement, construction, and consultancy firm, among many others.
There was an aerobics session anchored by fitness expert, Basil Pollyn, on Day 2 of the event while Give-Away prizes were awarded to participants including the children who competed against themselves during a dance session. The prizes were from donations made by the RA Ladies Association to support the event.
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