The Canadian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr Christopher Thornley, said that the empowerment of women was key for any country to achieve poverty reduction and economic growth.
Thornley made the statement in Abuja on Tuesday at the National Women Business Summit organised by the Association of Nigerian Women Business Network (ANWEN).
He spoke on the theme: “Strengthening The Women Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Pivotal to Ending Recession and Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’’.
“We need to strengthen women capacities, skills and expand their opportunities to be fully developed.’’
Thornley said that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a contribution of 20 million dollars to help female entrepreneurs in developing countries during G20 summit in Hamburg.
He promised that the office would help women access the fund, saying the fund would address the difficulty women-owned small and medium-sized businesses faced in developing countries.
Thornley advised the summit to discuss important things that would enable the women to get involved in decision making. (NAN)
