The Federal Government is advancing the Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policy to address gender disparities that are hindering national productivity. Women own over 40 per cent of micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria but receive less than 15 per cent of formal financing, according to Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Imaam Sulaiman-Ibrahim. She spoke at a WEE policy review session in Abuja on Thursday, stating the imbalance drains trillions of naira from the economy annually. The WEE Policy is now part of the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions (RHSII-774), with Kaduna, Kano, Lagos and Kwara states having fully domesticated it, while over two-thirds of states are engaged in the process. The minister said domestication is transformational, not procedural, aiming to deliver tangible services to women across sectors. Targeted programmes under the policy include EmpowerHer, WAVE 774, PowerHer 774, Her SafeHaven, Families First Initiative and DigitalHer. The government has also established the Presidential High-Level Advisory Council on Support for Women and Girls to coordinate funding and action. Despite women making up over 70 per cent of agricultural labour, only 21 per cent manage plots, limited by access to land, finance and inputs. Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu said women's inclusion is central to Nigeria's growth strategy, noting structural barriers still restrict their access to capital, markets and skills. A costed implementation framework is now in place, and more than 20 states are adopting the policy. UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS Beatrice Eyong affirmed support for the policy's alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda.
Imaam Sulaiman-Ibrahim claims the WEE Policy is transformational, yet over two-thirds of states remain in early adoption stages, raising questions about the real pace of change. Women in agriculture manage only 21 per cent of plots despite forming over 70 per cent of the workforce, meaning current policy reach may not match economic reality. The government's focus on formal financing access ignores that many women-owned MSMEs operate outside the formal system, limiting the impact of financial interventions. If domestication remains slow and structural barriers persist, the trillions lost annually may continue to outweigh promised gains.
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