Nigeria has unveiled a new digital platform to connect millions of women to finance, skills training, and market opportunities, in what officials call the country's largest technology-driven women's inclusion initiative to date.
The Happy Woman App Platform, which was unveiled at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, would serve as a single interface for women to access funding facilities, business development support, governmental initiatives, and critical services.
The digital drive comes as Nigeria grapples with expanding gender gaps in financial access, with women much less likely than males to maintain bank accounts or obtain formal credit, limiting their capacity to grow informal enterprises they primarily run.
Yet women remain central to the economy, accounting for a large share of micro and small enterprises that contribute nearly half of the country’s GDP.
According to the Social Institutions and Gender Index, only about 35 percent of Nigerian women have a bank account at a financial institution, compared with 55 percent of men, underscoring the depth of persistent financial exclusion and the urgency of targeted interventions.
The launch coincided with the expansion of the Nigeria for Women Programme, which the administration now plans to scale nationwide to reach 25 million women.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by vice president Kashim Shettima, said the scale-up is central to Nigeria’s economic growth strategy.
“A nation that relegates its women is a nation bound for implosion,” he said, adding that women must be placed “at the centre of national planning and productivity.”
The expanded programme builds on a pilot phase in six states that reached over one million women, many organised into Women Affinity Groups to access grants, savings schemes and livelihood support.
The government says the new app will streamline beneficiary registration, payments and training, reducing leakages and improving delivery.
Share
