Leading Nigerian government and banking leaders have emphasised the critical issues surrounding women’s financial inclusion.
Making the call in Lagos, the African Development Bank Group and African Guarantee Fund, said it has become paramount that strong case is made for increasing women’s participation in the economy.
The two institutions then initiated a finance series as part of the AFDB’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), with representatives from AFAWA donor countries, including the Netherlands, France, and Italy.
The series of events is designed to bring together government representatives, policymakers, and financial institutions to address the challenges faced by women-led small and medium enterprises in accessing finance.
During the opening ceremony, Grace Ogbonna, Director for Economic Research and Policy Management in the Ministry, spoke on behalf of Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun.
She emphasizes the importance of women’s economic empowerment and equal opportunities for their full participation in the nation’s growth.
Key discussions revolve around enhancing regulatory frameworks to improve access to financing for women-led businesses and understanding AFAWA’s guarantee mechanisms to reduce risks for financial institutions supporting these start-ups.
The even also highlighted the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth programme as a collaboration between AfDB and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) which was established in 2021 to unlock up to $2 billion (about N15,278,420,000,000,000) in financing for women-led small and medium enterprises in Africa through financial institutions.
Dr. Beth Dunford, vice-president for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, AfDB, stressed that opportunities for women-led businesses in Nigeria and their potential to contribute to the country’s economic development goals with the right support.
He said moreover, the programme provides incentives to financial institutions to lend women-led SMEs and sheds light on research indicating their reliability in repaying loans and their reinvestment of income in education, health and community development.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), AGF, Jules Ngankam,, said the importance of addressing issues of financial exclusion of women in Africa while commending the Nigerian government’s efforts to promote women-led SMEs.
He said the Financial Series also includes training for financial institutions to better service women entrepreneurs by evaluating their products and services through a gender-sensitive lens.
Lamin Barrow, Director-General, AfDB, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to challenging the perception that women entrepreneurs are risky investments.
He said the bank recognizes Nigeria’s immense potential for AFAWA-related activities and its partnership with the private sector to enhance women’s access to finance through innovative financial instruments.
He said the AFAWA Series in Nigeria promises to be a catalyst for addressing financial inclusion challenges faced by women-led-start-ups and promoting their economic empowerment.
