The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr Mariya Mahmoud, has called for sustained investment in women, saying empowering them is an economic strategy capable of driving Nigeria’s growth and transformation.
Mahmoud spoke on Wednesday at the Second National Gender Inclusion Conference held at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The minister said women play critical roles in the Nigerian economy as entrepreneurs, farmers, professionals, innovators, employers and community leaders, but remain constrained by limited access to finance, markets, land, technology, skills and decision-making opportunities.
She said the country must move away from treating women’s empowerment merely as a social welfare programme and instead recognise it as an investment with direct economic benefits.
“Women’s economic empowerment should be treated not merely as a social intervention but as an economic strategy,” Mahmoud said.
She called for improved access to affordable finance, digital financial services, business development support, insurance and markets to enable more women to establish and expand businesses.
Mahmoud also advocated stronger institutions, gender-responsive budgeting, reliable data and effective monitoring and evaluation of programmes targeted at women.
She stressed the need to involve women in the design of policies and programmes that affect them, saying, “nothing about women should be designed without women.”
The minister said the FCT Administration was committed to inclusive development through skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, social investment, community development and infrastructure.
According to her, infrastructure, including roads, transportation, markets, water supply, healthcare, electricity and safe public spaces, directly affects women’s ability to participate effectively in economic activities.
She urged the private sector, financial institutions, development partners, civil society organisations and community leaders to strengthen their efforts to remove barriers limiting women’s participation in the economy.
Mahmoud further challenged stakeholders to move beyond making resolutions and begin measuring the real impact of gender inclusion initiatives.
She said success should be measured by the amount of financing reaching women, the effectiveness of institutions, the number of underserved communities reached and the actual economic outcomes recorded.
The minister commended the Office of the Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs for organising the conference and bringing stakeholders together to develop practical solutions for translating gender inclusion policies into measurable economic outcomes.
Mahmoud expressed confidence that sustained collaboration and deliberate investment in women would strengthen families and communities while contributing to the growth of Nigeria’s economy.
