The Network facilitated a session at the Lafarge Africa International Women’s Day 2026 Virtual Webinar, held on 10 March under the theme Give to Gain. Naomi Nwokolo, CEO and Executive Director, joined as guest speaker and delivered a presentation titled Investing in Women for Nigeria’s 2026 Economic Outlook.
The framing of the presentation was deliberate. Women’s economic participation is most often discussed as a question of fairness, and less often as a question of national output. The session took the second route, examining the role women’s participation plays in driving national productivity, innovation and inclusive growth, and what Nigeria stands to gain or forgo depending on how seriously that participation is resourced.
Three investment priorities anchored the discussion. Access to finance came first, given how consistently it surfaces as the binding constraint for women-led businesses. Skills development followed, with attention to the training pathways that determine which sectors women are able to enter. Leadership pathways completed the set, addressing the gap between entry-level participation and decision-making authority.
Participants were then engaged in discussion on practical strategies for strengthening gender-responsive economic planning and for increasing private sector investment in women, moving the conversation from principle to the mechanics of implementation.
Delivering the session to the women of one of Nigeria’s largest manufacturers gave the conversation a practical edge, since the questions raised sat within the realities of a large industrial workforce rather than in the abstract.