Presidency: Nigeria Can’t Build $1trn Economy Without Full Participation Of Women

The Federal Government of Nigeria has emphasized that achieving its goal of a $1 trillion economy is dependent on the full economic participation of women. Vice-President Kashim Shettima warned that without the economic empowerment of women, Nigeria's ambitious economic targets will remain out of reach. At the Second National Gender Inclusion Conference, Shettima outlined four strategic platforms aimed at bridging the gender gap in financial inclusion and transforming women's economic potential into enterprise, jobs, and sustainable growth.

During the conference, Shettima highlighted disparities in financial inclusion, noting that only 47% of Nigerian women have formal financial accounts compared to 58% of men, pointing out that this gap leaves millions of women's businesses without access to affordable capital and limits their entrepreneurial potential. The vice-president insisted that investing in women is not charity, but a growth strategy, arguing that the nation cannot afford to leave half its population out of the economy.

Various initiatives have been launched, such as the National Income Activation Initiative and the Women in Energy Partnership, to connect women and young people to skills, capital, markets, and emerging economic opportunities. Shettima cautioned against relying solely on aggregate figures, urging policymakers and program implementers to identify the reach, exclusions, and impacts of interventions.

He challenged stakeholders to treat gender-intentional finance as a viable market rather than charity and called for stronger accountability measures to track, review, and scale successful interventions.