Nigeria Targets 95 Percent Financial Inclusion With Women At Centre

9 September 2025
Daily Trust (Abuja)
By Adebayo Gbenga

Women's World Banking (WWB), in collaboration with the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), convened a high-level stakeholders' workshop in Abuja to drive women's digital financial inclusion as part of efforts to position Nigeria on the path to a trillion-dollar economy.

The workshop drew participants from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Bank of Industry (BOI), Deposit Money Banks, Microfinance Institutions, FinTechs and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).

Discussions focused on closing Nigeria's nine per cent gender gap in access to financial services and achieving the national target of 95 per cent financial inclusion. Participants agreed that empowering women with access to digital finance was critical to reducing poverty, boosting household welfare and driving sustainable economic growth.

Dr. Nurudeen Zauro, Technical Advisor on Economic and Financial Inclusion to the President, said the collaboration between PreCEFI and Women's World Banking was aimed at aligning national and global strategies to accelerate inclusion.

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He noted that listening to women and designing financial products around their realities would be key to reaching the country's economic goals.

Uche Uzoebo, Chief Executive Officer of Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF), said the partnership would deepen agent banking, particularly in Northern Nigeria where financial exclusion remains high. She said the move would "enable more women to access formal financial services and contribute to national economic development."

Elizabeth Gathai, Regional Head for Africa at Women's World Banking, said Nigeria had the potential to lead Africa in women's economic empowerment through improved access to credit, policy reforms and targeted inclusion programmes.

A major highlight of the workshop was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between WWB and SANEF to expand the agent banking footprint and productivity for women in underserved regions. The agreement, witnessed by Dr. Zauro, was described as a concrete step toward fulfilling the government's commitment to inclusive growth.

Other speakers included Dr. Aisha Isa-Olatinwo, CBN Director of Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion; Dr. Rakiya Yusuf, CBN Director of Payment Systems Supervision; and Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, Executive Director at NIBSS, who pledged institutional support for the initiative.

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