Only 22% of Nigerian women have economic power – report

The latest EFInA report on Women’s Economic Empowerment, which uses data from the 2023 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) survey, revealed that of the estimated adult female population of 56.3 million in Nigeria, only 22 per cent or 12.5 per cent women can be considered economically empowered.

The article states: “Education, digital literacy, and financial literacy are the most important drivers of women’s economic empowerment. These are closely followed by women’s autonomy in household decision-making and their participation in social groups, which increases their ability to engage in productive work and own assets.”
The report highlights the breakdown of financial services usage by women, showing that women who actively used an account in the last 90 days were 1.8 times more likely to become financially independent than women who did not.
In terms of savings, women using formal sources are 6.9 times more likely to receive support, while those using informal sources are 6.7 times more likely.
It also highlighted that access to credit from formal sources increases the probability of social empowerment by 2.1 times, while informal credit has a minimal impact of only 1.01 times, underlining the crucial role of formal credit systems.
“Women who remit money through formal channels are 1.9 times more likely to become independent compared to women who use informal channels, who are 1.66 times more likely, underlining the importance of formal remittance systems.”
“Using digital financial services (DFS) through banking channels increases empowerment by 1.36 times, while other formal banking channels offer an even greater increase of 1.72 times, underlining the growing role of digital platforms in financial inclusion,” the report reads.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Emezino Afiegbe, Director, Gender Centre of Excellence at EFInA, said the report identifies important linkages between financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment in Nigeria, as well as key factors influencing women’s formal financial inclusion.
“By anchoring the importance of financial inclusion in economic development, we can focus resources and investments on enablers that will ultimately accelerate the economic development of all Nigerian women,” Afiegbe said.

Yetunde Fatogun, a social development consultant at the World Bank, said: “To empower women economically, it is crucial to recognise that this is not a short-term endeavour. Sustainable progress requires the involvement of multiple sectors in its implementation. To truly empower women, we must address key issues, including the significant influence of culture and the critical role of institutions – traditional, religious and family.

“This report is both timely and necessary as it sheds light on these multi-faceted challenges and offers insights into how different sectors can work together to bring about meaningful and lasting change for women in Nigeria,” Fatogun added.