In the shaded warren of narrow alleyways that intersect the three storey Construction Market within E.D.A Plaza in Abuja, Mrs Blessing Nwogu operates her lockup shop, competing with other, predominately male, building material traders.
All manner of construction related supplies servicing all trades are sold from the multitude of small shed-sized lockup shops in the market. The four walls of one such shop are stacked high with buckets of white emulsion paint. Similarly, Blessing’s lockup shop is piled high with bags of cement, tiles and small boxes of construction supplies. Like other female traders in the Nigerian construction sector, Blessing faces considerable difficulties with operating her business and sustaining her livelihood in the crowded and male-dominated construction sector.
In order to overcome these challenges, Blessing and her counterparts across ten sites in Abuja organised themselves in 2010 into an informal association. In 2012, whilst trying to approach the state government, the group became aware that they needed to formally register their association in order to obtain an effective advocacy dialogue with the state. Hearing about GEMS2, Blessing approached the project to seek technical assistance with formalising their association.
Blessing (far right, with her two assistants) is a member of the Association of Women in Construction Input Suppliers of Nigeria, which supports women working in the sector
In January 2013, GEMS2 facilitated the formation of the Association of Women in Construction Input Suppliers of Nigeria (AWCISN). With 53 current members and headquarters in Abuja, AWCISN’s primary objective is to expand the participation of women in the construction sector and act as an enabling platform that will allow its members to access more profitable opportunities in the industry.
During a GEMS2 facilitated focus group in April 2013 with six AWCISN members, all but one of whom were construction input suppliers, attendees were asked to characterise the role and dynamics of women in the sector and identify the constraints (and possible solutions) affecting them. The participants agreed that the role of women in the sector is predominately confined to input supply, reasoning that women have only recently become active players in the market.
The three major constraints affecting Blessing and her fellow AWCISN members were cited as: 1) lack of finance and credit, preventing the operation and expansion of business; 2) insufficient market information as compared with men; and, 3) family responsibilities restricting the control of and time dedicated to business. These issues are compounded by the general prejudice facing women in the sector – some men feel that women are encroaching on a role that is not suitable for them.
Through the formalisation of AWCISN GEMS2 is addressing these issues, working towards the economic and social empowerment of women input suppliers. Through AWCISN women can now apply for contracts collectively or as affiliated individuals providing women with a market edge and greater credibility than men who do not have such associations. This will translate into more awarded contracts and thus increases in incomes and jobs for women in the sector.
GEMS2 is also working to link AWCISN with other GEMS2 stakeholders to facilitate job and contracting opportunities. Negucci Women in Construction operate an ‘all women initiative’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme in Abuja that equips participants with the necessary skills, equipment and resources to build their own the property and subsequently own it at a discounted rate. GEMS2 is advocating that Negucci partner with AWCISN to source construction materials and thus continue to make it an all women initiative.
GEMS2 is also working with AWCISN to provide advocacy and business workshops that will enable the women to better advocate on collective issues and increase information and knowledge sharing to help close the information gap on men. With access to finance being another key area, GEMS2 is considering ways to enable AWCISN members to access credit facilities, grants for women, or low-interest loans.
Further, GEMS2 is assisting AWCISN with an application to the third round of the GEMS2 Construction Industry Fund (CIF). The CIF is a £3.5 million innovation fund designed to share the financial risk of innovation in the construction sector by providing grants for investment in innovative business projects that have pro-poor objectives. For-profit companies that have ideas that both improve their businesses and have positive impacts on the sector, in terms of increased incomes and jobs for low-income groups, are invited to apply.
Currently, GEMS2, in partnership with AWCISN, is engaging the Lagos-based Association of Women in Building Construction (AWBC), which GEMS2 also helped to formalise, to link with AWCISN. This scaling up is intended to further increase the representation and advocacy of women working in the construction sector, providing them a forum for knowledge exchange and partnerships to help strengthen their advocacy.
Towards the end of my interview with Blessing, as we sit on a wooden bench that welcomes Blessing’s customers and sip a cool malt beer, two male artisans approach the shop. They purchase a 50Kg bag of cement, which is brought down from the ten-high stack and sold to them by Blessing’s female assistant. It appears, at least superficially, that women working in construction input supplies are beginning to change attitudes and acquire patronage.
