Nigeria Can’t Afford To Exclude Women From $1trn Economy – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that Nigeria cannot afford to exclude women from its ambition of building a $1 trillion economy, stressing that women’s economic inclusion is a strategic imperative for national growth.

Shettima stated this on Wednesday at the Second National Gender Inclusion Conference, #ProjectShesIncluded, held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Vice President, who was represented at the conference by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Ibrahim Moddibo, said the Federal Government’s ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy would remain incomplete if women were unable to participate fully in creating wealth and driving economic growth.

He said, “We have set our sights on a one-trillion-dollar economy. But what kind of economy can we build if half of our people cannot participate fully in creating it?”

Shettima noted that only 47 per cent of women hold formal financial accounts, compared with 58 per cent of men, describing the gap as evidence of women whose businesses cannot access affordable capital, female farmers unable to insure their livelihoods and entrepreneurs whose ideas fail to become viable enterprises.

He further cited evidence suggesting that Nigeria’s national output could be as much as a quarter larger if women participated equally in the economy.

“The conclusion is inescapable. Women’s economic inclusion is not merely the right thing to do; it is one of the smartest growth strategies available to Nigeria,” he said.

“The question is no longer whether we can afford to invest in women, it is whether we can afford not to. Our answer is no!”

The Vice President said the government was developing an architecture for delivering economic inclusion, citing the National Income Activation Initiative, which he said was taking skills, capital and market access to women and young people across the country.

He also highlighted the Women in Energy Partnership with the World Bank as an initiative positioning women to participate in Nigeria’s energy transition.

Shettima said government must move beyond national averages and focus on identifying those still excluded from economic opportunities.

“It is time we ask ourselves the harder questions. Who is being reached? Who is still excluded? Which interventions work, and who is responsible for the ones that do not?” he said.

According to him, the difference between merely announcing inclusion and governing for inclusion lies in the ability to track beneficiaries, measure outcomes and hold institutions accountable.

He challenged stakeholders at the conference to ensure that every serious commitment made carries an owner, a measurable target and a deadline.

“Delivery means that this gathering produces bankable projects, measurable commitments and implementable solutions,” he said, adding that successful interventions should be recognised through the National Gender and Financial Inclusion Awards.

On financing, Shettima urged financial institutions, fintech companies, investors and development partners to view gender-intentional finance as a viable market rather than charity.

“Women’s enterprises are demand; their savings are capital; their ideas are innovation,” he said.

He argued that institutions that design financial products around women’s realities would be better positioned to benefit from Nigeria’s next phase of economic growth.

The Vice President also called on state governors and sub-national leaders to take responsibility for delivering inclusion at the grassroots, stressing that national policies must translate into tangible opportunities for women in wards, markets, farms and small businesses.

He said success should not be measured by the number of women enrolled in government programmes but by the number of businesses that grow, jobs created and households that become more resilient.

“Inclusion must be measured by changed lives, not attendance registers,” he said.

Shettima reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to Project #ShesIncluded, the Aso Accord for Economic and Financial Inclusion and the ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy that works for every Nigerian.

Earlier, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Vice President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, said #ShesIncluded must evolve beyond an annual conference or campaign into an enduring national delivery framework for women’s prosperity.

Hadejia, who delivered the welcome address, said the initiative must connect policies to programmes, programmes to opportunities and opportunities to measurable results.

He said the government would focus on how interventions affect women’s incomes, access to productive credit, markets, jobs and economic security.

He added that the barriers confronting women cut across finance, markets, technology, land, connectivity and trust, requiring coordinated action by federal and state governments, financial institutions, the private sector, development partners and civil society.

Hadejia said the success of the initiative would ultimately be determined by what happens in the 12 months following the conference.

“The real conference begins when this one ends,” he said, urging stakeholders to move from commitment to coordination, execution, scale and measurable prosperity for Nigerian women.

The two-day Second National Gender Inclusion Conference is focused on “Designing for Delivery: Financing, Systems and Scale for Women’s Economic Transformation.” The #SheIsIncluded initiative is aimed at addressing gender disparities in financial and socio-economic opportunities in Nigeria.