Opportunities that exist for women entrepreneurs who are ready to invest and gain are limitless in Cross River State,” said Obioma Liyel-Imoke, wife of the Cross River State Governor.
Recently at the very prestigious BWI Hilton in Maryland US, Obioma made this known, also giving her keynote address at the second annual WETATI (Women Empowered To Achieve The Impossible) conference and celebration.
The Wife of the Governor, who was honoured with the WETATI Lifetime Achievement Award, spoke on Investment Opportunities for Women in Cross River State. She expressed delight at being given the opportunity to market Cross River State investment potentials using the very vibrant, dynamic and colourful WETATI platform.
“I am extremely delighted to stand before such a distinguished crowd made up of the crème de la crème of women across the world.
“I am grateful to the WETATI team for putting together this great conference. I do sincerely hope and believe that the two days spent together, cross-fertilizing ideas towards seeking solutions to the myriads of problems facing women would indeed help in empowering women to do the impossible.
“Cross River State known as the nation’s paradise is investor friendly not only for its natural idyllic beauty, but also for government’s role in taking pragmatic steps to creating an investor friendly climate.
“For investors in Cross River State, Government has created an enabling environment for businesses to thrive not just by putting in place infrastructure such as pipe-borne water, intricately planned road networks, electricity including 24/7 street lighting on all major roads in the urban areas, but also gives tax holidays to business start-ups as an incentive for more people especially women to establish new businesses.”
She listed some investment opportunities in the areas of tourism and entertainment, oil and gas, arts and craft, agriculture, health, infrastructural development, and a few others. Obioma also talked about investment opportunities in the state’s Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, also known as West Africa’s largest business and leisure resort, encouraging women to take up retail spaces for their products.
“As in most parts of the world, women make up almost half of the total population of Cross River State. The women of Cross River are hardworking, strong in character, and very enterprising. The Cross River State Government is conscious of the power that women wield and the need to cater for them,” she said.
Also speaking at the conference, Kim Watson, Vice President, Pepco Corporation, said that women are known to invest 90% of their income in their families, according to UN statistics.
“Therefore when you empower a woman, you break the cycles of poverty. There is rising evidence that societies are stronger with the empowerment of women.”
Margaret Dureke, founder and president of WETATI described WETATI as a holistic enterprise.
“It embraces and touches different facets-financial matters, poetry, art, politics, development, health education, and so on.”
In her welcome address, she noted change, challenges and sacrifice as key ingredients to realising dreams, adding that; “When you go into the annals of history of successful people who made an impact in the lives of others and left legacies, it is evident that they understood these principles.”
She encouraged women to push for change by embracing these principles in pursuit of their life ambitions or dreams.
“It is never too late to dream or re-ignite the ones you had before. It is only too late for those who give up. My hope is that by being here today, you will leave at the end of the program with your own ‘AHA’ moments that will allow you embrace the inevitable changes, challenges and sacrifices in your path to new your own destiny in any aspect of your life that you desire change.”
In achieving the impossible, there is usually a price to be paid, Obioma concluded, “a price of painstakingly asking, seeking and knocking. After doing all these, there is no way the doors will not be opened.”
With all these said, women what are you waiting for; Cross River is calling….