The United States government has reiterated its dedication to enabling Nigerian women entrepreneurs reach their full economic potential and establish the conditions necessary to improve everyone’s stability, security, and prosperity.

It stated that its Academy for Women Entrepreneurs would be the vehicle for this. This information was revealed at a recent three-day session in Lagos that brought together 150 academy alumni to improve their digital literacy.

Speaking at the function, Mr. Will Stevens, the Consul-General of the United States in Nigeria, stated that the School for Women Entrepreneurs is an amazing reunion of more than 130 of the 150 women who have graduated from the school in recent years.

“We have been doing this for the past few years since 2019. This is a programme that the US government sponsors to train women who already have small businesses and help their businesses to grow with the aid of further investments in technology, agriculture, and investment services.

“It helps them connect mentors in the United States at the graduate business school in Arizona and mentors in the private sector in the United States and among each other. These women across Nigeria are supporting each other and growing their businesses and employing Nigerians,” Stevens said.

He went on to say that it is encouraging to see women stepping up to become entrepreneurs and working with the US.

Stevens states that the school holds an intake each year for female applicants to the program, stating that “we select between 30 and 50 women to participate.”

Stevens added that by giving Nigerian businesswomen the necessary tools for success, the program has continuously played a crucial part in empowering them.

“Being a part of the academy in the past five years has been an incredible journey and it has helped women entrepreneurs’ businesses to scale,” stated Adebisi Odeleye, the President of the AWE Alumni Association, in her speech. Numerous incentives from the US government have accelerated the growth of different companies.

In a similar move, Women in Successful Careers and UN Women have announced the opening of an Affirmative Procurement Project, which aims to improve women’s full involvement in the public and economic spheres and advance gender-responsive procurement practices.

According to a statement released by WISCAR on Friday, the organisation plans to work with private sector partners in Lagos to promote gender equality in their supply chain and procurement procedures and to pledge to the principles of women’s empowerment.

‘The Affirmative Procurement Project comes at a time when global businesses increasingly recognise that pursuing gender equality is not only a moral obligation but a business imperative.

“Women-owned businesses, which comprise 40 per cent of small and medium enterprises worldwide, shockingly receive only one per cent of corporate procurement contracts,” the statement said.

Singapore’s low-carbon, state-backed investment business, GenZero, has announced that it will work with Rwanda to generate carbon credits to offset emissions.

Australia and Britain have rejected offsets for meeting net zero commitments, while Singapore relies on them due to limited area for large-scale renewable projects.

The deal between GenZero, Rwanda Green Fund, and Gold Standard promotes project integrity under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The clause allows countries to satisfy climate targets by investing in low-carbon projects in other nations through bilateral agreements or a future U.N. trading regime.

“We will review potential projects with the Rwandan Green Fund and the Rwanda Environment Management Authority over the coming months, to determine their eligibility and suitability to be included in the collaboration,” Frederick Teo, chief executive of GenZero, an arm of the state investment fund Temasek, said.

“Projects can be nature-based solutions such as nature restoration, or technology-based solutions such as improved waste management.”

While Article 6 negotiations continue, Singapore has inked memoranda of understanding with Laos and the Philippines and legally binding “implementation agreements” with Ghana and Papua New Guinea.

Ravi Menon, Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action, told a conference last week that Bhutan, Paraguay, and Vietnam pacts have been reached.

Article 6 credits can offset up to 5% of taxable carbon emissions for Singapore enterprises.

While Article 6 negotiations are still in progress, Singapore has legally binding “implementation agreements” with Ghana and Papua New Guinea, as well as memoranda of understanding with Laos and the Philippines.

Additionally, agreements with Bhutan, Paraguay, and Vietnam have been finalised through negotiations, as stated in a presentation last week by Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action, Ravi Menon. Singaporean businesses can purchase credits through Article 6 transactions to offset up to 5% of their taxable carbon emissions.

Following the breakdown of negotiations on a final text in Dubai last year, Article 6 will be a top concern during the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan in November.

The functioning of the United Nations-run carbon market has proven difficult for the parties to agree upon, and some are concerned that bilateral accords may influence national sovereignty.