Regcharles foundation hosts roundtable to boost female owned businesses

A galaxy of female chief executive officers (CEOs) gathered at the Eko Hotel and suites last Thursday for the inaugural female CEO’s roundtable put together by Regcharles Female Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Network (RFEEN), with the theme, women owned business, “enhancing partnership for success.”

In his opening remarks, Peter Damian Mbama, the group managing director of Regcharles Finance and Capital Limited, said that this was the first in the series of the female CEO’s roundtable and that the event will now be held annually.

He said that women in enterprise are the driving force for change in Nigeria and Africa. He described women entrepreneurs as being resourceful, astute with very high integrity quotient. He equally said the roundtable is a highly interactive and energetic business forum for women entrepreneurs and SME owners, creating platform for learning, mentoring and collaboration.

He debunked the widely held notion that funding is the major challenge of SMEs, while stating that funds are available for lending but that the problem is more of character or integrity of the entrepreneur that requires funding.

In her keynote address, Ini Onuk, head consultant/CEO of Thistle Praxis Consulting Limited, spoke about how a business can be positively impacted through planning, diligence, integrity and symbiotic partnerships.

She counselled women entrepreneur to think outside the box, clearly articulate their objectives and know where they are going and how to get there. She defined success as a destination, a feeling of fulfilment and also strong staying power. She praised women for having a staying power and sixth sense that comes in handy in solving very complex problems.

Oby Ezekwesili, another speaker who is currently a senior economic adviser at Open Society Foundation

enjoined women to seek access to knowledge, urging that with knowledge all other things would fall into place. She said that access to finance is not the greatest obstacle to SMEs but rather that an entrepreneur should first ask if she has any basis for finance. Ezekwesili said that one needs knowledge and relevant solutions before the need to access finance.

She identified employers as problem solvers and that they must improve their equity both in monetary value, goodwill and character. She further said that entrepreneurship is more about character, requires risk taking, and is a marathon and not a 100-metre dash. Ezekwesili said that from research 60 percent of women leaving paid jobs for entrepreneurship are doing so because they believe they will add value and render better services.

The former education minister further advised budding female entrepreneurs to seek seed capital from parents, close relations, self before approaching angel investors. She also advised women to have integrity and character because character does not go with pretence. She explained various aspects of partnerships and advised women to go into collaborative partnerships.

Ezekwesili enumerated various sources where entrepreneurs can access funds, which include, banks, SMEDAN, You-WiN, CBN and BoI.

She advised women to be intellectually prepared for entrepreneurship by investing in knowledge. She advised them to read the Economist and BusinessDay to have access to the knowledge economy.