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By Bolaji Okunola
Sterling Bank Limited has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing women’s economic participation in Nigeria through its support for the Nigeria Gender Country Programme (NGCP).
The programme is a multi-year private-sector platform designed to address structural barriers limiting women’s participation in employment, enterprise and leadership.
Temi Dalley, Group Executive, Human Capital and Corporate Services at Sterling Financial Holdings Company PLC, articulated the position during the programme’s introduction in Lagos,
The programme is being anchored by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Dalley stated that for the bank, the ambition aligns with a long-standing institutional position that meaningful inclusion requires more than policy commitments or access to capital, adding that it demands structured interventions at the specific points where women are most likely to fall out of the economic pipeline.
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“Most institutions have these policies in place. What separates the ones that produce results is execution at the moments where women are actually lost, like the transition into motherhood, the middle-management ceiling, the point where an entrepreneur has a good idea but no structure to scale it.
“What we have today is a structured intervention that encompasses mentorship, sponsorship, capability-building, flexible platforms and a work environment that takes micro-aggressions seriously.
“If the private sector is serious about the ambition of the NGCP, we have to build that full ecosystem, not just write the cheques. Nigeria cannot grow around the productive capacity of half its population; it has to grow through it.”
Speaking at the programme’s introduction, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, urged businesses to make gender inclusion part of their core strategies.
“I want the private sector to embrace gender-smart strategies not as a matter of compliance, but as a pathway to competitive advantage,” Sanwo-Olu stated.
Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by her Special Assistant on Child Protection and Projects, Aishatu Digili, similarly described the initiative as a shared commitment to move from intention to action, and from action to measurable impact.”
