• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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UN Women, Procter & Gamble, Afrigrants hold private sector meeting on affirmative procurement

UN Women, Procter & Gamble, Afrigrants hold private sector meeting on affirmative procurement

United Nations (UN) Women, Procter & Gamble and Afrigrants Resources recently organised a private sector meeting which was themed “Affirmative Procurement in Nigeria” in Lagos.

The meeting convened high-level decision makers and leaders from Nigeria’s private sector, including business oriented platforms, and policymakers, to deliberate on the opportunities and challenges of mainstreaming affirmative procurement into Nigeria’s private sector.

“Women- owned businesses secure a mere one percent of procurement contracts, suggesting systemic gender disparities within procurement processes. Affirmative procurement seeks to respond to the gap in women’s access to procurement markets through addressing both demand-side (buyers) and supply-side (entrepreneurs) constraints,” the organisations said during the event.

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This advocacy is driven by the conviction that the public and private sector at the country level can use procurement to achieve great socio-economic change for women and girls.

Globally, UN Women is leading the advocacy on promoting gender-responsive procurement to facilitate attainment of the sustainable development goals, and as a critical part of the solution for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Thus, the meeting in Lagos deliberated on current good practices on affirmative procurement in the private sector for further study. It also examined opportunities and challenges of mainstreaming affirmative procurement into Nigeria’s private sector.

The meeting concluded with the formation of a working group on Affirmative Procurement in Nigeria to institutionalise the practice in the private sector and advocate for policies at the federal and state level.