By Onwa Ekor, Calabar
Nexim Bank Executive Director of Business Development and former National Women Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Stella Okotete, has advocated for cooperative development among women entrepreneurs.
She made the advocacy in Calabar during the 2025 International Women’s Day celebration, held in Calabar, the Cross River capital.
Okotete maintained that cooperative structures are crucial for women to amplify their business impact while breaking free from traditional limitations.
Her words: “Women are the bedrock of our nation, hence I urge them to step into leadership roles and challenge the existing economic landscape.”
She highlighted the disparity in export earnings, noting that while women are primary producers, men often dominate the export market.
“We need to change this narrative, while promoting Nexim Bank’s Women and Youth Export Facility (WAYEF),” Okotete added.
This initiative, she explained, is aimed at providing targeted funding to women and youth aged 18 to 35 in the non-oil export sector, fostering value-added exports and regional industrialization.
Okotete commended the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hon. Edema Irom, for her efforts in providing support for the women and being a strong voice for them in the state.
She showered encomium on the governor, Prince Bassey Otu and his wife, Bishop Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, for their commitment to women in the state, stressing the need for women to view men as partners while fostering collaborative progress.
Director-General, Cross River Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA), Great Ogban, highlighted the importance of enterprise training for sustainable growth.
The event featured the distribution of a ₦5 million seed fund granted to women to support their cooperative business development.
