By Linus Oboh
Participants of a National policy dialogue on Increasing renewable energy investments for empowerment of women in sustainable agriculture and lithium Mining in West Africa have agreed that women in Nigeria, especially rural women lack access to renewable energy.
They made the call in a communique jointly signed Mrs Ruth Tene and Kay Benjamin made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National policy dialogue organised Ziva Community Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and it’s partners had in attendance public and private sectors, civil society organisations (CSOs), community groups, financial institutions, and development partners.
The National policy dialogue which had the theme “Advancing Gender-Sensitive Renewable Energy – Expanding Women’s Participation, Adoption, and Leadership Across the Energy Value Chain in Nigeria” deliberated on strategies for women’s empowerment through renewable energy investments across agriculture and mining sectors in Nigeria and West Africa.
The event featured panel discussions, paper presentations, and interactive sessions that examined barriers and proposed practical pathways for enhancing gender-responsive energy access and leadership.
According to the communique, rural women in Nigeria were facing limited awareness and education on renewable energy solutions and had no adequate access to affordable and reliable energy services.
The communique noted that Nigerian rural women also lacked technical capacity, had limited exposure to modern technologies and poor access to finance.
The communique added that absence of collateral-free credit; high illiteracy levels among women in rural communities,
cultural and religious norms restricting women’s participation, limited access to land ownership, and
underrepresentation of women in leadership and policy decision-making positions were also contributory factors to rural women lack of access to renewable energy.
The communique then recommended that in addressing these challenges, government should formulate and implement national and sub-national policies that provide microcredit facilities, grants, and incentives for women-led renewable energy enterprises to enable women to become key drivers of the energy transition.
The communique also called for the promotion of gender-responsive and collateral-free financing models, including cooperative-based and inclusive financing schemes to support women’s access to renewable energy investments.
The communique urged government to establish structured training and capacity-building programmes to equip women with the technical and managerial skills required to access, deploy, and maintain renewable energy technologies.
“We also call on the need for women to be included in leadership and decision-making positions across the renewable energy value chain, from policy formulation to project implementation,” the communique added.
The communique added that participants reaffirmed that women are not merely vulnerable groups but are central actors, innovators, and entrepreneurs capable of driving sustainable transformation within their communities.
In her welcome address, Mrs Emily Offodile, Founding Director, Ziva Community Initiative represented Mr Samuel Pam, Program Manager of the NGO appreciated participants for their attendance and said the dialogue aim is to explore ways to increase renewable energy investment, empower women in sustainable agriculture, and promote responsible lithium mining practices in West Africa. (NAN)