FG, ECOWAS partner to empower 50 million women

The Federal Government has entered into collaboration with the Economic Community for West African States to empower 50 million women with finance, the Director (Economic Development) at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Alhaji Idris Muhammed, said on Thursday.

According to him, the project, 50 million African Women Speak platform, has the African Development Bank, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and East African Community as collaborators and aims to target the number of women in Africa through a mobile app.

Muhammed, represented by the Assistant Director (Social Welfare), Emilia Oti, said these during a validation meeting of the Technical Working Group on Women Economic Empowerment programmes in Nigeria.

The meeting was organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and supported by the Development Research and Projects Centre under the Partnership for Advancing Women in Economic Development and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Muhammed said the app was intended at improving the access of women to financial and non-financial information through the use of information communication.

He said, “I am delighted to inform you of the achievements of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs through the 50 million African Women Speak Platform Project.

“The platform is a collaborative initiative of the FMWA, ECOWAS, African Development Bank, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and East African Community aimed at reaching 50 million African women through a dynamic platform via mobile app and web with the goal of improving their access to financial and non-financial information through the use of Information communication.”

The Director (Monitoring and Evaluation) at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zakari Lawal, said the Federal Government had prioritised women empowerment in its medium-term national development plan.

“Every country produces a plan that guides its operations for a certain period and it entails the major policy objective that it wants to achieve and the detailed project it intends to achieve in the MDAs. In line with that, the government put in place the medium-term national development plan, which cover its operations within the period of 2021-2025,” he said.