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Tuesday, September
29, 2020 / 3:46 PM /by CBN / Header Image Credit: CBN
In March 2018, the National Financial Inclusion
Special Intervention Working Group (a working group under the National
Financial Inclusion Governance structure) constituted a subcommittee to look
into gender-related financial inclusion issues and propose recommendations for
addressing the high exclusion rates among women in Nigeria. One key
recommendation of the subcommittee was to develop a comprehensive framework
that provides a guide and blueprint for women's financial inclusion.
This Framework is the outcome of the gender
subcommittee's work and follow-up work by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and
Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA). It builds upon the National
Financial Inclusion Strategy (Revised) (October 2018), and integrates valuable
insights from the Assessment of Women's Financial Inclusion in Nigeria
(December 2019). This Framework takes as an additional reference point
Nigeria's Sustainable Banking Principles, which promote women's economic
empowerment through a gender inclusive workplace culture in business operations
and seek to provide products and services designed specifically for women.
Alongside these national reference points, the Framework is based on what is
considered international best practice in advancing women's financial
inclusion.
Developing a women-specific strategy stems from the
recognition that it is important to treat women as a critically important and
distinct customer group, rather than as a subset of a broader group, for
example "vulnerable"; it recognizes also that there are specific segments
within this customer group. With this perspective in mind, the Framework builds
upon the 2018 National Financial Inclusion Strategy (Revised), but makes the
important distinction that the 2018 Strategy is framed collectively as "women,
micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and people living in the most
excluded regions (North East and North West)," whereas this Framework is
focused entirely on women's financial inclusion, addressing the financial inclusion
of all categories of Nigerian women, young and old, throughout the country.
The Framework carves out the barriers of particular
importance to women, laying out eight strategic imperatives and related
recommendations with the greatest potential for addressing these barriers.
Download Here - Framework for Advancing Women's Financial Inclusion In Nigeria
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