March every year is celebrated as Women’s History Month, and a firm founded and managed by a woman, Ife Ibitokun, has dedicated the month to turn women’s fears of loans into fortune.
Ife Ibitokun, chief executive officer (CEO), BizNurture Financial Services Limited, in an interview with newsmen, harped on the causes of fears women in business that dampen appetite for loans, and how his firm, BizNurture Financial Services Limited, is working to overturn this.
Saying fear of loans sets women businesses back, the expert with a huge background in the banking industry said the problem may not be very much about laws limiting women but about cultural and societal factors.
The biggest hindrance, Ibitokun mentioned, is lack of awareness and education about financial matters. “One of the limitations could be cultural and societal norms that shape how women respond to things around them. Women are affected by duties to family, childbearing, etc.
As a result, many women feel guilty if they are seen not focusing more on the family. Norms shape women’s attitudes toward loans. They are expected to focus more on the family over their businesses and career. It results in many women being hesitant to pursue careers and businesses. When they don’t do this, they feel guilty.”
She also said lots of women have limited access to information, knowledge, and resources on financing options for business. They hardly have the networks that men have to get loans.
She said fear of failing to pay back is real, and other fears abound. Many habour fear of whether the project in mind would not fail, and what happens if they did not repay. This fear sets them back.
Fear to fortune scheme
The ex-banker, now a loan and financing practitioner, says the scheme to help women from fear to fortune is to help them overcome the fear through strategic education. It is about opening their eyes to the deep well of opportunities out there for women to start or expand their businesses.
She said her own firm started on loans, and connections (network) and is today helping women and others gain access to funding.
Ibitokun said most women hear stories of how others took loans and failed, they thus vow never to come close to loans. Others, she remarked, hear that some funds come from diabolical sources (juju) and anywhere the money is put must dry up. BizNurture, she said, tries to debunk these notions.
According to her, ‘Women History Month’ is being dedicated by her group to create awareness and show women that education and training can show them how to access loans and how to use loans successfully She said it is not charm that makes loans perform badly.
What BizNurture is doing
She stated: “We have created products; we are educating women and empowering them. We groom them on requirements and different types of finances. It’s important to access the right loan type for a business. So, education is key. There is no loan that fits all types of business. Knowing the cash flow of a business is important to avoid running into trouble.
“If you took a loan for a one-off job (supply, project, etc), when you are paid, pay off at once too. It means you would take a project loan and pay it back as the payment gets to you. But if you take to expand or support your business, you pay back along your cash-flow pattern. If you fail to follow this strategy, you run into trouble.”
She said education is the key and that is what they do in BizNurture so women can understand when they are taking a loan, they need a decision and it has to be a major decision.”
She said: “We provide business training series to trash most of these things. Also, we send out emails and other social media handles to all our subscribers for continuous education. If we train you, we might not give everybody loans but we properly explain to the entrepreneurs why a particular loan cannot be for them. We are educating people on a daily basis.”
To her, this way, BizNurture contributes to the Women History Month. She gave the background of the month, saying it is set aside to celebrate what women have achieved. The effort, she said, started in 1909 in the US. “This has progressed and it’s now a full month to focus on what women have contributed to culture and society.”
She said women in Nigeria very much celebrate it because they too have achieved a lot.
Conclusion:
“We must focus on how loan aversion can be overcome and how women can manage their loans well. The most important thing is the type of loan for a type of business. Some loans are destined to fail from the word go because it is the wrong loan. So, education is one of the best tools to fight this.”
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