Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and private sector stakeholders have called for collateral-free financing models to enhance women’s access to renewable energy investments in Nigeria and West Africa.
The call is contained in a communiqué signed by Mrs Ruth Tene and Mr Kay Benjamin on Thursday in Abuja at the end of a National Policy Dialogue Workshop on Increasing Renewable Energy Investments for the Empowerment of Women in Sustainable Agriculture and Lithium Mining in West Africa.
The dialogue, organised by Ziva Community Initiative, an NGO, with support from the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), brought together participants from CSOs, public and private sectors, financial institutions, and development partners.
The communiqué emphasised that women should not be regarded merely as vulnerable groups but as key innovators, entrepreneurs, and change agents capable of driving sustainable development in their communities if given the right support.
It urged the government to formulate and implement national and sub-national policies that would provide microcredit facilities, grants, and incentives for women-led renewable energy enterprises to play pivotal roles in the energy transition.
The participants also called on governments at all levels to establish structured training and capacity-building programmes to equip women with the technical and managerial skills needed to access, deploy, and maintain renewable energy technologies.
They identified several barriers hindering women’s participation in the renewable energy sector, including the absence of collateral-free credit, high illiteracy levels among rural women, cultural and religious restrictions, limited access to land ownership, and under-representation in leadership and decision-making roles.
“We also call for gender-responsive inclusion of women in leadership and decision-making positions across the renewable energy value chain; from policy formulation to project implementation,” the communiqué stated.
In her remarks, Mrs Emily Offodile, Founding Director of Ziva Community Initiative, represented by Mr Samuel Pam, Programme Manager of the NGO, commended participants drawn from across selected states for their commitment to promoting women’s empowerment.
Offodile said the dialogue aimed to explore strategies for expanding renewable energy investments, empowering women in sustainable agriculture, and promoting responsible lithium mining practices across West Africa.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the national policy dialogue had as its theme: “Advancing Gender-Sensitive Renewable Energy – Expanding Women’s Participation, Adoption, and Leadership Across the Energy Value Chain in Nigeria.”
The event featured panel discussions, paper presentations, and interactive sessions that examined barriers and proposed practical pathways to strengthen gender-responsive energy access and leadership in Nigeria.
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