The federal government has set aside $180 million to promote young Nigerian women in technology and the creative industries.
The program supports young Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 35 who are entrepreneurs and early-stage participants in innovative, creative, and technology-enabled businesses.
Wale Edun, the finance minister and coordinating minister of the Nigerian economy, stated during the World Bank’s Annual Meetings 2024 in Washington that the government is making significant efforts to promote the status of women, who make up 49% of the population and are essential to the advancement of development.
However, he recognized that more work must be done to improve women’s lives, social justice, equality, and access to opportunities, especially financial ones, as insufficient progress is being made in these areas.
Edun welcomed the World Bank’s assistance to date in assisting the government in promoting gender balance in the nation, saying, “If we empower our female population and give them the same access that we have given our men, society will be better off for it.”
He added that the government has consciously worked to empower Nigerian women, especially through a national action plan.
On Thursday, the World Bank Group announced a series of activities and specific goals aimed at increasing the economic possibilities of more women, marking the first steps towards achieving its “Gender Strategy 2030.”
The goals, announced at a major event during the World Bank Group Annual Meetings in 2024, will centre on how women may benefit from social security, broadband use, and capital access. These initiatives will support one of the three pillars of the Gender Strategy, which aims to increase and facilitate women’s involvement in the global economy.
The World Bank Group wants 300 million additional women to have access to broadband, financial services, education, and employment possibilities by 2030.Â
The bank intends to provide money to 80 million additional women and women-led enterprises while also supporting 250 million women through social protection programs that prioritize the most vulnerable and impoverished.
Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, stated that increasing women’s economic involvement benefits families and communities in addition to the global economy. “Through economic empowerment, we are building a ladder out of poverty and extending hope and dignity as far as possible.”
The global lender will concentrate on important initiatives to promote long-term, sustainable transformation to meet these goals. The bank will concentrate investments in nations with the biggest connectivity and financial disparities regarding broadband access, focusing on gender equality in digital inclusion.Â
The bank will also push for legislative changes to encourage private investment and construct infrastructure in underprivileged areas.
The bank will also invest in digital social registers as part of its expansion of social protection programs to increase efficiency, lower administrative obstacles, and guarantee direct aid to women.
To provide women with long-term economic prospects that go beyond short-term financial assistance, the bank will also use digital cash transfers and connect them with market access, coaching, business financing, and skills training.
To prevent gender biases in lending practices, enhance the capacity of female entrepreneurs, and improve access to credit and equity, the bank will also work with regulators, financial institutions, fintech companies, incubators, accelerators, and private equity funds to increase access to capital for women and women-led businesses.
The bank plans to mobilise resources through gender bonds and other financial instruments while developing expertise to build the business case for necessary regulatory reforms by collaborating closely with investors and development finance organisations.
