The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele,
has felicitated Nigerian women and called for more engaging conversations on how
women can leverage technology and innovation to bridge the digital gender gap.
Emefiele, in his keynote address at the CBN IWD webinar to commemorate the
International Women’s Day Celebration on March 23, 2023, 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.
He reiterated the CBN’s commitment to promoting gender equality and financial
inclusion among women through such policies as the Micro Small and Medium
Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF), which dedicates 60 per cent of the
funding under the scheme to women-owned enterprises, the Framework for
Advancing Women’s Financial Inclusion in Nigeria, which seeks to address gender
gaps in access to finance, targeted onboarding of women on its central bank digital
currency, the e-Naira, amongst others.
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.
Aishah N. Ahmad, the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability (FSS), who
hosted the Coffee Table Chat with Dr. Omobola Johnson, called for broad private
and public sector commitment to gender parity and ensuring that women, youth and
rural dwellers have access to digital financial services.
Ahmad noted that despite increased digital mainstreaming, women were less
likely than men to have access to technology, creating a digital gender gap which
perpetuates women’s economic exclusion. She reasoned that digital innovation
could be the missing link and a winning strategy for fixing the parity problem and
deepening access to financial services.
In her interventions, the Special Guest Speaker, Dr. Omobola Johnson, a Senior
Partner with TLcom Capital and Nigeria's pioneer Minister of Communications
Technology, emphasized that inclusive innovation that is gender sensitive was
critical to reducing the gender exclusion gap.
Dr. Johnson also advocated for a catch-them-young strategy to encourage females
to pursue careers in technology and the establishment of special funds for female led
tech businesses to achieve greater participation in the digital economy.
She particularly underscored the importance of making Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education attractive for girls by showcasing
role models in the sector. She highlighted the potential for digital financial services to
enable not just financial services but important interventions in health, agriculture and SMEs.
She, therefore, urged men to be deliberate in mentoring high-achieving
women and their daughters in their pursuit of male-dominated careers like STEM.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam
Katagum, equally stressed the need for women to learn digital skills to participate
effectively alongside their male counterparts in digital financial services.
Whilst commending the CBN for its efforts at enhancing financial inclusion, she disclosed
that CBN and some agencies of government, such as the Bank of Industry (BOI),
Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development
Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), have special funds that women can access for
support.
Discussions during the panel session at the webinar focused on the strategic role of
digital technology and targeted-out-of-the-box approaches to closing the digital
gender gap, guaranteeing women’s access to the digital economy and improving
digital financial inclusion and broad-based economic participation of women.
Speakers at the session, which was moderated by Chibuzo Efobi, Director of
Financial Policy and Regulation CBN, included Roosvelt Ogbonna, Managing
Director Access Bank Ltd; Wendy Teleki, Head Women Entrepreneurs Finance
Initiative (We-Fi) Secretariat World Bank Group; Dr (Mrs.) Markie Idowu, MD/CEO of
Xpress Payment Solutions Limited; Mrs. Farida Yahya, Vice President, Partnerships
Shecluded; and Mrs Hawwau Gambo, Assistant Director and Head of Media
Relations, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The webinar had in attendance more than 1,000 participants across diverse sectors
of the Nigerian economy, including other Deputy Governors and departmental
Directors of the Bank.