Needs Assessment of Market Women and Commodity Associations in Oyo State
The market space in Yoruba land is historically considered a heritage site dominated by women. A place where the resilience of women in nurturing livelihoods is tested and where entrepreneurial skills are transferred from one generation to another. The market women of Oyo State who participated in this study exemplify this time-tested resilience, despite their lived realities full of various challenges.
Conducted by the Iyamopo Centre for Peace, Women and Youth Development, Ibadan, Oyo State, with support from the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, this needs assessment was borne out of the necessity to understand the challenges which the women have persistently complained about - lack of representation, voice and leadership - in their markets, the current worrisome state of markets, and business-related concerns.