From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The Minister of Women Affairs, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has explained the reasons behind the endemic poverty plaguing Nigeria’s North-West geopolitical zone.
According to the Minister, “Data from the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA)’s Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) survey in 2023 reveals a deeply unsettling reality: the North-West region has the highest rate of financial exclusion among adults, with 47 per cent lacking access to both formal and informal financial services.”
She spoke on Wednesday, July 2, at the opening of the North-West Governors’ Summit on the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up (NFWPSU) in Katsina.
She further lamented that, “This gap limits women’s ability to build resilience, invest in livelihoods, and escape poverty.
“These highlight the severity of the exclusion and reinforce the urgency of scaling gender-responsive interventions like the NFWP.”
The minister described the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up as the country’s largest coordinated effort to place women at the centre of sustainable development, “and we must therefore treat it as a national imperative.
“It is also about institutionalising a future where women are economically empowered, socially secure, and politically visible.
“Considering that women constitute over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population, yet only about 30 per cent of them own formal businesses in the form of micro, small, and medium enterprises in Nigeria.
“Yet women continue to struggle with access to credit, markets, and financial literacy.
“Limited access to capital means that many women entrepreneurs are locked in small-scale activities, unable to grow their businesses or leverage opportunities in the formal economy.
“It is essential to note that the Nigeria for Women Project is not a social grant programme. It is a public investment with verifiable outputs, robust fiduciary safeguards, and sustainability measures.
“This is why we prioritise states with demonstrated readiness and commitment to the programme’s goals.”
She noted that 32 states have signed on to the NFWP-SU project, adding that, “This milestone demonstrates widespread political buy-in and a unified vision for inclusive national development.
“It also reflects the strength of our federating structure—women’s empowerment is no longer a peripheral concern but a national priority.”
As a measure to further empower Nigeria’s women, the minister noted that the federal government has designed a range of projects under a newly launched programme called the Renewed Hope Social Impact and Advancement Project for Women, Children, and the Vulnerable.
“A component of it will be a blended finance vehicle to crowd-in private and philanthropic capital to support women’s cooperatives, scale Women Affinity Groups (WAGs), and expand local value chains,” she said.