FG Targets 10m Women In New Push For Skills, Financial Inclusion

The federal government has shifted its focus from policy formulation to practical implementation of programmes aimed at improving women’s economic participation, with a new initiative seeking to bring 10 million Nigerian women within reach of skills, recognised credentials and economic opportunities.

The move was highlighted at the 2026 SheIsIncluded Summit held in Abuja, where government officials, development partners, financial institutions and private-sector organisations examined ways to improve the delivery of skills, digital learning and economic opportunities to women across the country.

Convened by the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, the two-day summit was held under the theme: “Designing for Delivery: Financing. Systems. Scale.”

The initiative is part of the federal government’s broader economic and financial inclusion agenda under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Speaking at the summit, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the government was seeking a departure from conventional intervention programmes in which women largely remain beneficiaries.

“For too long, women have largely been beneficiaries of intervention programmes. What we want now is to economically empower them so they become co-creators of prosperity,” she said.

The minister’s position reflects the growing emphasis by policymakers on moving women from beneficiaries of government interventions into active participants in production, entrepreneurship, employment and wealth creation.

Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion and Secretary of PreCEFI, Dr. Nurudeen Zauro, said the summit represented a transition from discussions about policy to the actual delivery of programmes.

“The summit marks a decisive transition from policy conversations to practical implementation,” Zauro said.

Under the SheIsIncluded initiative, the government and its partners are seeking to establish a delivery model through which women can access practical skills using mobile phones, obtain verifiable credentials and subsequently use those qualifications to pursue employment, entrepreneurship and financial opportunities.

The programme is being supported by Ubuntu Tribe as its implementation and technology partner through Ubuntu Tribe Academy.

The technology component is designed around mobile-first learning, including access to courses in local languages, with participants able to learn using phones they already own. Successful participants are expected to receive verifiable credentials that can potentially be recognised by employers and financial institutions.

Founder of Ubuntu Tribe, Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, said technology could help reduce some of the traditional barriers that prevent women from accessing skills and economic opportunities.

“A woman should not need wealth or proximity to opportunity to develop a valuable skill. Ubuntu’s role is to put that opportunity within reach through the phone already in her hand and a credential the economy can recognise,” Toure said.

He added that access to training would only become meaningful when it could lead to tangible economic opportunities.

“Access becomes meaningful when it opens a path to real economic participation,” he said.

Unlike programmes that require beneficiaries to pay for training, organisers said women participating in SheIsIncluded would receive the learning component free of charge, with funding and delivery expected to come through collaboration among government, development partners and private-sector organisations.

The broader coalition supporting the initiative, known as the Coalition on Women Empowerment (COWRIE), brings together government agencies, financial institutions, development organisations, corporate bodies and civil society organisations.

The coalition is expected to provide a common framework for skills development, digital learning, credentials, employment, entrepreneurship and financial inclusion.

However, the initiative comes against the backdrop of wider challenges confronting women seeking to participate fully in Nigeria’s economy, including limited access to finance, digital skills, formal employment and markets.

The Federal Government has therefore increasingly linked digital skills and financial inclusion to its wider economic transformation objectives.

According to figures cited by the government, national digital skills initiatives have reached more than 263,000 Nigerians, while increased participation by women is also being positioned as part of the country’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

The figures, however, represent broader government initiatives and national objectives rather than results directly attributable to SheIsIncluded.

The key test for the new initiative will therefore be whether the framework can translate enrolment and training into measurable economic outcomes, including employment, new businesses, improved access to finance and higher incomes for participating women.

With implementation now moving to the next phase, the government and its partners are expected to focus on expanding access beyond Abuja and other major urban centres to women across the country.

For SheIsIncluded, the stated objective is not simply to increase the number of women receiving training but to establish a repeatable pathway from learning to recognised skills and ultimately to economic participation.

The programme’s success will depend on its partners’ ability to sustain funding, expand digital access, ensure training remains relevant, and secure employer and financial-institution recognition of credentials.

However, the initiative could provide another channel for Nigeria’s digital inclusion efforts to translate into broader economic participation for women.