Friendship, Professional Networks, and Turning Purpose into Opportunity (Part 1) - Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi

**Are we getting women’s economic empowerment wrong?** It’s a question that stopped me in my tracks during this conversation. When we say we’re empowering women, what do we really mean? Is it grants? Skills training? Startup kits? Or have we been overlooking the opportunities that create lasting economic change? In Part 1 of this conversation, I sit down with my friend **Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi**, Executive Director of **DO Take Action**, to unpack why she believes procurement is one of the most overlooked pathways to women’s economic empowerment. Drawing on her work with **UN Women** and partners across Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire, Precious shares how research challenged her own assumptions and led her to rethink what empowerment should look like. We talk about why women contribute so much to our economies yet remain largely excluded from procurement opportunities, the myths that continue to hold women back, and why changing systems requires more than training women—it also means working with policymakers and the institutions that shape opportunity. She also shares one of my favourite stories from the episode: how a facilitator from one of their earliest training programmes eventually became a Director General and is now helping champion women’s participation in procurement at the national level. It’s a reminder that when people believe in a vision, change has a way of coming full circle. This isn’t just a conversation about procurement. It’s a conversation about questioning assumptions, challenging systems, and creating opportunities that last. Watch Part 1 and let me know what resonated with you. Follow **Change Narratives** for more conversations with people changing systems across Africa. 🌍 www.changenarratives.org 🔗 https://linktr.ee/changenarratives25 #ChangeNarratives #WomensEconomicEmpowerment #Procurement #PublicPolicy #SocialImpact #Leadership #Africa #DOTakeAction