Business
CBN intensifies push for financial inclusion among women
BY EMEKA EJERE
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is implementing its digital financial inclusion policy for women in select states of the federation.
The project, according to the apex bank, is part of efforts to improve access to finance for the economic empowerment of vulnerable women in Nigeria.
Empirical studies have shown that policy steps aimed at empowering women are key enablers in reducing poverty, stimulating economic growth and ensuring sustainable development.
In a statement, the CBN further explained that the programme also aimed at implementing the bank’s framework for advancing women’s financial inclusion in the country and improve access to financial products and services among vulnerable segments of the society.
The digital financial inclusion drive which commenced from Gombe State, on November 1 through to 5, 2021, was the first of six engagements cutting across states with high number of financially excluded women and youth. The target for the drive was to reach at least 25,000 women and youth across the state.
The statement also identified Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Niger and Oyo as the other states with high populations of vulnerable financially excluded women and youths.
The statement added that the financial inclusion drive is expected to, among other things, improve financial literacy and build awareness on the benefits of the use of digital financial services and contribute to increased access to payments, savings and credit enhancement opportunities for rural women and youth across the country leveraging digital platforms.
Essentially, the move by the apex financial regulatory body was expected to promote the uptake of other financial products and services among women and youth including insurance, pension and capital market products through agents.
A report published by McKinsey Global Institute highlighted the critical importance of women’s financial inclusion to global GDP growth and notes that if countries in Africa could focus on closing gender gaps in their respective jurisdictions, the continent could add $316 billion or 10 per cent to GDP by 2025.
Nigeria’s financial inclusion rate grew from 32.5 percent in 2012 to 64.1 percent in 2020, a figure is below the CBN’s 80 percent financial inclusion target for the year (2020).
With a current National Financial Inclusion rate of 64.9 per cent, and a financial inclusion gender gap of 8 per cent, the country proposes to achieve 93 per cent overall financial inclusion and close the gender gap in access to finance by 2024.
According to the 2020 A2F survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access in Nigeria (EFInA), only 26 per cent of adult women and 27 per cent of youths in Gombe have access to one form of financial product or service.
In addition to reducing the high statistics on women’s exclusion, the CBN’s digital financial drive is also expected to help curb restiveness among the youth population by exposing them to economically viable ways of improving their livelihoods and ensure that they understand the need for safety of their funds protected within formal financial institutions.
The framework
On September 29, 2020, the CBN virtually launched the framework of advancing women’s financial inclusion tagged “Access to Finance Framework for Women.”
The framework was conceptualized by the Financial Inclusion Special Intervention Working group and developed by the CBN in collaboration with EFInA and Women’s World Banking with input from over 50 stakeholder institutions.
The overarching vision of the framework is for Nigeria to be globally recognized, with an inclusive financial sector that has closed the gender gap by 2024. The framework further itemizes 8 strategic imperatives for driving improved access to finance for women in Nigeria.
In the monitored online event, the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability at CBN Mrs. Aisha Ahmad justified the initiative by citing EFInA’s report on financial inclusion in 2018 as a yardstick.
The EFInA 2018 Financial Inclusion report indicated gender imbalance and a clear need to attend to the issue of growing female financial exclusion. For example, the report stated that 40.9% of females were financially excluded as against 32.5% of males.
Mrs. Ahmad remarked that perhaps, the figures might even be wider if unattended to especially in this period of crisis. She urged financial institutions to address structural issues limiting women’s access to finance by understanding and developing products that are specifically tailored to address such issues.
National Strategy for Leveraging Agent Networks
This is an offshoot of the framework for advancing women’s financial inclusion, according to the CBN.
“The strategy is a fulfilment of the strategic imperative three under the framework which advocates for the expansion of delivery channels to reach women customers closer to home to close the financial inclusion gender gap in Nigeria,” it said.
The apex bank added the strategy seeks to ‘at least’ double the number of female financial services agents between 2022 and 2024 and increase the ratio of female to male financial services agents from 15:85 to 35:65 by 2024. It will also promote the innovation and deployment of at least 10 gender-centric financial products or interventions that actively leverage agent networks.
Total commitment
Delivering a keynote address at the CBN international women’s day (IWD) webinar to commemorate the International Women’s Day celebration on March 23, 2023, suspended governor of CBN Godwin Emefiele, reiterated the bank’s commitment to promoting gender equality and financial inclusion among women.
He noted that digital financial services had become a critical dependency in the economy, providing vast opportunities to bridge the digital gender gap, drive financial inclusion and increase employment and economic opportunities for women.
While felicitating with Nigerian women, he called for more engaging conversations on how women can leverage technology and innovation to bridge the digital gender gap.
Speaking on the theme of the celebration, “Digitise Her: Bridging the digital gender gap for financial inclusion and sustainable growth”, Emefiele attributed the successes recorded by the bank to the hard work, resilience, and commitment of the female staff.
