?Three women entrepreneurs win N10 million in North-Central business innovation awards

Founder of the Women Enterprise Alliance (WenA), Her Excellency Aisha Babangida, has called on Nigerian policymakers to move beyond policy promises and implement concrete, gender-inclusive reforms that create real opportunities for women entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Speaking at the 5th WenA Conference, held on Wednesday, October 16, 2025, in Abuja, and themed ?Translating Policy into Practice: Cost Reduction and Tax Reforms for Sustainable SME Growth,? Aisha Babangida emphasized that women-led enterprises remain critical to Nigeria?s economic transformation but continue to face systemic challenges such as high operational costs, complex taxation, and limited access to finance.

?Empowering women in business means empowering the entire nation,? she stated.

Highlighting ongoing efforts to close gender gaps in economic participation, Aisha Babangida commended the UN Women Nigeria?s Care Policy Initiative, presented by Aisha Bello Alkali, which seeks to reduce unpaid care burdens and foster policies that enable women?s full participation in the economy.

She also praised Kaduna State?s Affirmative Procurement Reform, which reserves a portion of public contracts for women-owned businesses and waives registration fees. Babangida disclosed that WenA will soon roll out training and certification programs to help women entrepreneurs qualify for such opportunities.

Sharing her personal journey, Aisha Babangida recalled the hurdles her own team once faced with tax compliance ? an experience that strengthened her advocacy for fairer and more inclusive policies.

She extended appreciation to UN Women, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), FCMB, and Welcome2Africa for their support in advancing women?s enterprise development through the conference.

?We must move beyond talk and take tangible action to ensure equal access and fair opportunities for women in business,? she urged.

A significant highlight of the conference was the WenA Award & Recognition Session, which celebrated excellence, innovation, and impact among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the North-Central region.

Coordinated by Aisha Babangida, the top prize for ?Most Scalable Business in North-Central Nigeria? went to the winning enterprise, which received ?5 million. In comparison, the first and second runners-up earned ?3 million and ?2 million, respectively.

Additionally, three outstanding SMEs received certificates of excellence for their innovative and resilient approaches to business. To further empower grassroots entrepreneurs, WenA announced free business registration for 50 women-owned enterprises, reinforcing its mission to eliminate entry barriers and strengthen Nigeria?s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation in the Digital Economy, Ms Chayla Shagaya, reaffirmed the Federal Government?s commitment to advancing women?s entrepreneurship through reforms that reduce the cost of doing business, expand access to finance, and embed gender-responsive policies across economic structures.

?Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu?s Renewed Hope Agenda, women-led SMEs remain the quiet economists of every household and a central pillar of Nigeria?s economic resilience,? she noted.

?Across Nigeria, women entrepreneurs are innovating, employing, and solving local problems with global relevance. Notably, about 70 per cent of public submissions on SME policy reforms came from women.?

In the same vein, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, announced a set of fiscal reforms aimed at easing the tax burden on small businesses, particularly those led by women.

Represented by Mr Olufemi Olarinde, Head of Fiscal and Tax Reforms Implementation, FIRS, Adedeji disclosed that from January 2026, businesses with annual turnovers below ?100 million will be exempted from corporate income tax ? a move he described as ?a deliberate strategy to incentivise growth, not penalise enterprise.?

?Taxation should support the formalisation and scaling of small businesses ? not stifle them,? he added.

He further unveiled the rollout of a Unified Tax Identification Number (UTIN) integrated across the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), FIRS, and other relevant agencies to streamline compliance. FIRS, he said, is also transitioning to a fully digital tax filing system to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks.

The 5th WenA Conference brought together senior government officials, development partners, private sector leaders, and entrepreneurs, all reaffirming the vital role of women in driving inclusive growth, job creation, and national resilience.

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