Women Affairs Minister Pushes Plan to Turn Nigerian Women Into Economic Powerhouses

(Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim. Photo by Channels TV)

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has said Nigerian women must be supported to become household production hubs capable of driving economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim made this known on Thursday in Abuja during a courtesy visit by the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, BOA, Ayo Sotinrin, aimed at exploring areas of collaboration on women's empowerment and agribusiness development.

The minister explained that access to finance remains a critical missing link preventing many women from expanding their agricultural and production ventures, noting that women already possess the skills, resilience, and entrepreneurial capacity required to grow businesses but lack targeted financial support and access to productive assets.

She stressed that beyond supporting smallholder farmers, attention must also be given to women already engaged in production who need assistance to scale up their ventures, enabling them to function as household production lines that create value, generate income, and contribute meaningfully to national development.

She disclosed that the ministry is currently implementing programmes geared toward the economic empowerment of women, particularly through the Women Agricultural Empowerment Programme and the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up, noting that many participants in these initiatives have shown strong interest in agriculture, agro-processing, and food systems businesses.

According to her, partnering with the BOA would help bridge existing financing gaps and open up opportunities for women to expand their enterprises.

She cited the experience of rural women who spend long hours labouring on farms owned by others for minimal returns, arguing that strategic investment could transform their livelihoods and improve household incomes.

She maintained that many women already understand the work involved and simply require support, facilities, and opportunities to grow, adding that when women succeed economically, the benefits extend to nutrition, family welfare, community development, and overall national productivity.

The minister also highlighted the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in agro-processing, storage, packaging, and manufacturing, stressing the need for targeted interventions across the entire value chain.

She revealed that the ministry had received expressions of interest from more than 33,000 women seeking support to expand their businesses under the WAVE Programme.

Speaking earlier, Sotinrin noted that women make up nearly half of all participants across Nigeria's agricultural value chains, positioning them as central to efforts aimed at achieving food security and economic growth.

He explained that the BOA is prioritising women-focused financing programmes designed to improve access to credit, financial inclusion, and market opportunities, expressing the bank's readiness to partner with the ministry to support women farmers, agro-processors, and entrepreneurs through sustainable financing models.

He added that the collaboration would help lift more women out of poverty, strengthen rural economies, and boost agricultural productivity nationwide, noting that the bank would work closely with the ministry's technical team to design and implement practical interventions capable of reaching millions of women across the country.

The BOA delegation included Raheena Adeleke, Strategist in the Office of the Managing Director; Renee Phil-Agbasi, Special Assistant to the Managing Director; and Mai Renti Ishaku, Head of Product Segment.