Rivers State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting women empowerment through strategic partnerships with educational institutions, as it moves to strengthen entrepreneurial capacity among women in the state.
The commitment was restated by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dagogo Wokoma, during a meeting with a delegation from Robert Gordon University Business School, Aberdeen, Scotland, on Monday.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Services Bureau, Dede Friday, the SSG described the Women Entrepreneurs Accelerate Africa initiative as a timely programme that would help equip women entrepreneurs with practical business skills, especially in Artificial Intelligence (AI), financial management and enterprise development.
According to him, the initiative aligns with the Rivers State Government’s broader vision of empowering women through education, innovation and skills acquisition.
“It is encouraging that this training will expose women to emerging technologies such as AI, strengthen their educational development and improve their business achievements. When we educate a woman, we educate a nation,” he said.
Wokoma noted that empowering women entrepreneurs remains critical to economic growth and sustainable development, adding that the state government would continue to support programmes that improve the capacity of women-led businesses.
He also stressed the importance of partnerships between government and international academic institutions in addressing unemployment and expanding economic opportunities for women across Rivers State.
Speaking on behalf of the visiting delegation, Associate Professor Poh Yen Ng of Robert Gordon University Business School said the Women Entrepreneurs Accelerate Africa programme was developed to address the persistent skills gap affecting women entrepreneurs across Africa.
She explained that the initiative was designed following extensive research conducted by a team of women researchers who identified major challenges limiting the growth of women-owned businesses.
“We are here to train women and help close the skills gap so they can grow their businesses and become employers of other women. Through our research, we are giving back to society by using our expertise to empower women,” she stated.
Professor Ng also expressed optimism about building stronger collaboration between the Rivers State Government and Robert Gordon University in the area of women-focused entrepreneurship development.
She added that the Women Entrepreneurs Accelerate Africa training programme would also hold in Lagos, Nairobi and Pretoria as part of efforts to expand support for women entrepreneurs across the continent.
