Baking, tailoring, beadwork and catering are skills many women already possess. For the Nigerian Air Force Officers’ Wives Association (NAFOWA), however, possessing a skill is only the beginning. The bigger challenge is turning that ability into a sustainable source of income.

NAFOWA President, Mrs Ngozi Aneke, made the case in Abuja on Saturday during the association’s Entrepreneurship and Capacity-Building Training for members.

Aneke said many women have valuable skills and promising business ideas but lack the knowledge required to turn them into profitable ventures.

“A woman may be skilled in baking, catering, tailoring, hairdressing or production of liquid soap, yet lack knowledge of how to price her products, package them attractively, promote them online and keep proper financial records,” she said.

She gave another example of women with viable business ideas who struggle to move from concept to implementation.

“Another woman may have excellent business idea such as providing affordable meals on demand, childcare services or agricultural products, but may not know how to develop business plan, obtain start-up capital, attract customers or manage business effectively,” Aneke said.

She also pointed to women involved in crafts and fashion accessories who may struggle to reach customers beyond their immediate communities.

“Similarly, a woman who makes beautiful beads, crafts or fashion accessories may sell only to friends and neighbours because she has not learned how to use social media and online platforms to reach wider market,” she explained.

For Aneke, the challenge is therefore not necessarily a lack of talent. Many women already possess skills, ideas and experience. What they need, she said, is the knowledge and support to transform those abilities into productive and sustainable economic opportunities.

That was the focus of the training, which addressed areas considered important to women’s economic participation and personal development.

Aneke said changing social and economic circumstances require women to remain willing to learn, adapt and identify productive ways of responding to new opportunities.

She encouraged participants to acquire practical knowledge that would enable them to recognise opportunities, create value and participate more effectively in economic activities.

“Our intention is to provide you with practical knowledge that can help them move from simply having skill or idea to understanding how that skill or idea can be developed into something productive,” she said.

“We want you to understand the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, appreciate importance of planning and sound business management and develop confidence to pursue opportunities that can improve their livelihoods.”

The NAFOWA president also stressed that the benefits of empowering women extend beyond individual participants.

She said communities benefit when women have the knowledge and opportunities to develop their abilities, particularly through increased creativity, enterprise and economic participation.

The training, she explained, formed part of her vision for NAFOWA as an organization focused not only on the welfare of its members but also on their personal and economic development.

“This vision seeks to strengthen the association as a compassionate, inclusive and impactful platform that enhances the welfare of members, empowers women, supports families and promotes sustainable personal and economic development,” Aneke said.

She added that the association’s work complements the strategic guidance and support of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, particularly in the areas of women’s welfare, empowerment and inclusion.

“Through collaboration, service and purposeful programmes, we seek to ensure that NAFOWA remains responsive to needs of its members and contributes meaningfully to national development,” she said.

Aneke urged participants to approach the training as an opportunity to examine their own skills, businesses and ideas and identify practical steps for improvement.

“If you already have business, start to think about what you can do differently to improve it from today.

“If you have skill, think about how you can develop it further. If you have idea that you have been putting off, perhaps this training will provide the knowledge and confidence needed to take the next step,”* she said.

She also encouraged participants to listen actively, ask questions and consider how the lessons from the training could be applied to their individual circumstances.

For NAFOWA, the message was ultimately about moving beyond skills acquisition.

A skill can provide a starting point, but pricing, marketing, financial management, planning and access to customers can determine whether that skill becomes a sustainable business.

The association’s training therefore sought to equip women not simply to learn new things, but to understand how existing abilities and ideas can be developed into enterprises capable of improving livelihoods and contributing to wider economic activity.

By Umm e Habiba, Pakistan