ARISE&WIN Team Visits the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly

The Advancing Resiliency In Self-Employed young Women in Nigeria (ARISE&WIN) project team recently paid a courtesy visit to the Honourable Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Edward Ogundoyin, to strengthen partnerships targeted at supporting self-employed young women in Oyo State, Nigeria. The goal of the visit was to advocate for the domestication of the National Gender Policy in Oyo State.

During the meeting, the Principal Investigator (PI) of the ARISE&WIN project, Professor Olayinka Omigbodun FAS, emphasised the crucial role of self-employed women in Nigeria, noting that they make up 86% of the female workforce. She highlighted how the ARISE&WIN project has co-produced interventions to enhance the resilience of these women, helping them withstand significant life challenges that affect both their work and wellbeing. Over the past three years, the project has been a collaborative effort, bringing together self-employed young women, researchers, and policymakers.

In the spirit of co-production, Professor Omigbodun introduced the ARISE&WIN team present at the meeting, including the Oyo State Coordinator of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mrs Iyabo Ojogbede, self-employed Peer Consultants, Ms. Aderayo Animashaun and Ms. Feyisara Oladunni Taiwo, and the ARISE&WIN team core staff: Lead Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr Iyeyinka Kusi-Mensah; Postdoctoral Fellows, Dr. Oyeteju Odufuwa and Dr Opeyemi Ajibola; Programme Coordinator, Mr Timothy Ibe; and Communications and Research Uptake Manager, Mr Oluwaseun Abimbola.

Following the PI’s address, Dr. Kusi-Mensah presented an overview of the ARISE&WIN project and shared preliminary findings from a recent policy analysis. She introduced the ARISE&WIN capacity building and social protection intervention packages and explained the targeted impact of the intervention packages, which have been carefully developed through extensive research. So far, the project has achieved the following:

• Recruited and built the capacity of 87 self-employed young women in Oyo State.
• Provided training to about 80 members of the women’s support networks, including their spouses and parents.
• Offered social protection interventions to 44 self-employed young women.
• Enrolled 44 women into the Oyo State Health Insurance (OYSHIA) scheme, with fees fully covered by the project.
• Launched a savings programme, helping the women open accounts, providing seed funding for their businesses, and offering incentives for consistent saving.

Rt. Hon. Adebo Edward Ogundoyin commended the ARISE&WIN team for their evidence-based approach to supporting self-employed women. He acknowledged the importance of their research and praised how the interventions were thoughtfully designed and grounded in data. The Speaker expressed his support for the team’s work and encouraged further collaboration with the Oyo State House of Assembly.

To build on this momentum, the Speaker advised that the ARISE&WIN team engage in follow-up discussions with Honourable Olufunke Comforter Olajide (Olùtùnú Dé), the Chair of the Committee on Women Affairs & Community Development and Vice Chair of the Committee on Trade & Cooperatives, as well as Mrs Taiwo Adenike Muraina-Akinola, the Clerk of the Oyo State House of Assembly. Both Honourable Olajide and Mrs Muraina-Akinola expressed their readiness to work with the ARISE&WIN team and tasked the team with preparing a draft proposal for the domestication of the National Gender Policy in Oyo State which will be presented on the floor of the Oyo State House of Assembly.

Honourable Olajide also reaffirmed her commitment to capacity-building initiatives, highlighting her efforts in vocational training and the provision of resources for self-employed women. During the courtesy visit, Ms Animashaun was also able to share about her work through ‘Derayo Vocational Institute, which has trained thousands of young people in 23 vocational skills over the past six years.

The meeting concluded on a hopeful note, with eagerness to build sustainable partnerships that will empower self-employed young women in Oyo State. The ARISE&WIN project remains committed to working alongside policymakers and community leaders to create lasting change, ensuring that these women have the tools and support they need to thrive. The journey towards a more inclusive and supportive environment for self-employed women in Oyo State continues, and with partnerships like these, the future looks even more promising.