Women must become co-creators of prosperity — Minister

August 21, 2026 12:53 pm

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has called for a shift in the approach to women’s economic empowerment, saying women should move from being beneficiaries of intervention programmes to becoming co-creators of prosperity.

According to a statement released on Friday, Sulaiman-Ibrahim made the remarks at the SheIsIncluded 2026 Summit.

At the summit, the Federal Government outlined plans to expand economic opportunities to 10 million Nigerian women through skills development, recognised credentials and access to employment and entrepreneurship.

“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,” the minister said.

The two-day summit, convened by the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, was held under the theme, “Designing for Delivery: Financing. Systems. Scale.”

She said the initiative is part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is designed to move beyond policy commitments by establishing a delivery framework involving government, development partners, financial institutions and private-sector organisations.

The summit comes as the government seeks to increase women’s participation in an economy where access to skills, finance and employment remains uneven.

Under the SheIsIncluded initiative, women will be able to access free, mobile-first learning in local languages using phones they already own. The learning programme concludes with a verifiable credential intended to be recognised by employers and financial institutions.

The initiative is supported by Ubuntu Tribe, its implementation and technology partner, through Ubuntu Tribe Academy.

Founder of Ubuntu Tribe, Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, said technology could help remove barriers that prevent women from accessing opportunities.

“A woman should not need wealth or proximity to opportunity to develop a valuable skill,” Toure said.

He said the company’s role was to make learning accessible through mobile phones and provide credentials that could be recognised by the economy.

The Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion and Secretary of PreCEFI, Nurudeen Zauro, said the summit marked a transition from policy discussions to implementation.

“The summit marks a decisive transition from policy conversations to practical implementation,” Zauro said.

The SheIsIncluded movement aims to bring 10 million Nigerian women within reach of skills, recognition and economic opportunities through a coordinated national delivery model.

The initiative forms part of the government’s wider economic development agenda, including its ambition to build a $1tn economy by 2030.

The government said national digital skills initiatives had reached more than 263,000 Nigerians, although the figure is separate from SheIsIncluded and does not represent the programme’s results.

The success of the initiative will ultimately depend on its ability to translate its 10 million-women ambition into measurable outcomes, including recognised skills, employment, entrepreneurship and greater participation in Nigeria’s economy.

Gilbert Ekugbe

Gilbert Ekugbe is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over a decade of experience reporting on business and economic affairs. He covers markets, corporate developments, finance, and Nigeria’s broader economic landscape. His reporting is informed by extensive newsroom experience and a strong commitment to accuracy and responsible journalism, helping readers understand complex business issues.

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