By Lateef Odegbenle
Lagos State Government, in partnership with development partners and financial institutions, have empowered over 500 community women with essential financial literacy, entrepreneurship training, and access to vital financial services for them to be self-independent.
The women were empowered during advocacy programmes held on different days in five communities in Lagos State with over 100 women from each community.
The beneficiaries were drawn from Odomola Community, Epe; Amukoko Community, Ajeromi Ifelodun; Ojojo Community, Kosofe; Oke Ira Community, Ojodu and Ojora Badia Community, Apapa Iganmu.
The advocacy programme tagged “Promoting Human Capital Development through Advocacy for Women’s Financial Inclusion in the hard-to-reach communities” is organised by the Office of SDGs in collaboration with HCD Africa, Pay Business (Opay), Cowrywise, Lagos State Resident Registration Agency (LASRRA), and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Speaking during the advocacy programme, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih, restated its commitment to women’s empowerment and financial inclusion in hard-to-reach communities for them to be independent and self-reliant.
She advised women to ensure they are engaged in one business or the other, no matter how small, to be financially empowered, with a call on them to imbibe saving culture.
Dr. Finnih, represented by her Technical Assistant, Dr. Oluwunmi Akinlade, said the advocacy programme in partnership with Human Capital Development (HCD) Africa was to increase advocacy for women’s financial inclusion in hard-to-reach communities as well as increase awareness of data’s role in delivering better HCD outcomes.
She said: “It is very important to empower women with necessary skills to improve their businesses and to save. Our advice to women is to make sure that they save for the future. We want women to be financially independent. We don’t want them to depend solely on any man”
Speaking during the advocacy programme in his council, the Chairman of Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Segun Odunmbaku, expressed his readiness to partner with the Office of the SDGs, HCD Africa, and financial institutions to empower women in his community.
He said the advocacy programme, which is in tandem with the programme of the Ojodu LCDA, is commendable. He therefore promised partnership with the State Government and the partners to make the programme reach more women.
While stressing the need for sustainability of the programme, Odunmbaku encouraged the team to reach out to more women, saying he is ready for partnership and sharing of ideas on how to empower more women in the community.
“Your programme is in tandem with the programme of our local government. We will partner with the Office of the SDGs and other partners to make it more robust to reach more women, especially single mothers and widows,” he said.
The representatives of the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASSRA), the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC), Cowrywise and Pay Business (Opay), among others, educated women in the five communities on the importance of data for development and urged them to ensure they are captured for the exercise.
Speaking during the events, some of the beneficiaries, especially those who were captured for NIN and LASSRA as well as those who opened bank accounts with some financial institutions on the ground, commended the Lagos State Government, Office of the Sustainable Development Goals, HCD Africa, and other partners for coming to their communities for the advocacy programme which they noted has changed their orientation on financial inclusion and the importance of data.
Mrs. Hafsat Adedoja Kazeem, Tunwashe Olubukola, Mutiat Balogun, and Fatimo Titilayo Alasan, among others who spoke during the events held in the five communities, expressed satisfaction about the advocacy programme, saying they learnt a lot of things on how to manage, invest, and spend their money.
They also commended the organisers for providing an avenue for them to open accounts with some financial institutions and doing NIN and LASSRA registrations.
