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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Nigeria minister calls for women to co-create prosperity

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Nigeria's Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, called for women to become co-creators of prosperity, not just beneficiaries of programs.
  • The government plans to empower 10 million Nigerian women through skills development, credentials, and access to employment and entrepreneurship under the SheIsIncluded initiative.
  • This initiative, part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aims to provide free, mobile-first learning in local languages, culminating in verifiable credentials recognized by employers and financial institutions.

Nigeria's Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, is urging a fundamental shift in how women's economic empowerment is approached. Speaking at the SheIsIncluded 2026 Summit, she stated that women should transition from being passive recipients of aid to active participants in generating wealth.

For too long, women have largely been beneficiaries of intervention programmes. What we want now is to economically empower them so they become co-creators of prosperity.

— Imaan Sulaiman-IbrahimMinister of Women Affairs and Social Development, speaking at the SheIsIncluded 2026 Summit.

The Federal Government has laid out ambitious plans to reach 10 million Nigerian women. This will be achieved through comprehensive skills development, the provision of recognized credentials, and enhanced access to both employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. The initiative is a key component of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The SheIsIncluded initiative aims to move beyond mere policy pronouncements by establishing a concrete delivery framework. This framework will involve collaboration between government bodies, international development partners, financial institutions, and private sector organizations. The summit itself, themed “Designing for Delivery: Financing. Systems. Scale.,” was convened by the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

A woman should not need wealth or proximity to opportunity to develop a valuable skill.

— Mamadou Kwidjim ToureFounder of Ubuntu Tribe, discussing the role of technology in providing access to skills.

Under the program, women will gain access to free, mobile-first learning modules delivered in local languages, utilizing readily available mobile phones. Upon completion, participants will receive a verifiable credential designed to be accepted by employers and financial institutions. Ubuntu Tribe, the implementation and technology partner, will facilitate this through its academy. Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, founder of Ubuntu Tribe, emphasized that technology can dismantle barriers to opportunity, stating, “A woman should not need wealth or proximity to opportunity to develop a valuable skill.”

The summit marks a decisive transition from policy conversations to practical implementation.

— Nurudeen ZauroTechnical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion and Secretary of PreCEFI.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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