Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, has stated that the Nigerian government is driving bold reforms to institutionalise women’s empowerment and localise gender equality policies.
Speaking at a high-level event in New York, she emphasised the government’s ambition to empower 10 million women over the next three years to boost productivity and contribute to Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy target.
One key intervention, the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP), has reached 450,000 women and is now being scaled up to impact 4.5 million women through finance access, skills development, and cooperative-based programmes.
She also highlighted efforts to integrate women into the blue and green economies, the extractive industry, and the creative sector.
“…we are now scaling it up to directly reach 4.5 million women through access to finance, skills development, and cooperative-based interventions.
“This is what we refer to when we speak of scale. We are also working with partners to strengthen women’s participation in the blue economy, green economy, extractive industry, and creative sectors amongst others,” she said.
The minister stressed that small-scale interventions are insufficient for systemic change, calling for large-scale programmes and increased funding from governments, donors, and financial institutions.
“With the global gender financing shortfall, we must unlock new sources of capital, including impact investing, blended finance, and social bonds for gender equality. We must also scale up digital inclusion for women to ensure that no woman is left behind in the digital economy.”
“There comes a time in every movement when we must ask ourselves: Are we moving fast enough? Are we reaching far enough? Are we transforming lives at the scale required to make gender equality a reality?” the statement reads in part.
She urged global actors to unlock new financing sources, including impact investing and blended finance, while ensuring digital inclusion for women.
The event was attended by former Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Paulen Tallen, and wives of governors from Edo, Imo, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Ogun, Zamfara, and the FCT, among other dignitaries.
