The Federal Government says it has activated the economic empowerment of no fewer than 10 million women as part of efforts to achieve its $1 trillion economy ambition by 2030.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, disclosed this at a high-level sideline event of the 2025 United Nations General Assembly in New York. The session was themed “Scaling Women’s Economic Empowerment: Financing Inclusive Growth for Peace, Development, and Human Rights Lessons from the Nigeria for Women Project.”
She said the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP), under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, remains the most significant platform for women’s economic empowerment in the country.
“In phase one, we mobilised over 460,000 women into Women Affinity Groups across multiple states. These groups have collectively saved an average of N4.9 billion of their own money and inter-loaned significantly to expand businesses, cover health costs, and pay school fees. Over 330,000 women have also accessed livelihood grants, while thousands have been linked to formal financial institutions, national ID, and health insurance schemes,” she said.
The minister explained that the NFWP has now scaled up from its six-state pilot to reach women across all states. She added that Women Affinity Groups have become platforms for voice, social capital, and economic agency changing the texture of communities, lowering household vulnerability, and strengthening democracy from the grassroots.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the ministry has consolidated its empowerment model into a unified delivery structure known as the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions 774 (RH-SII774), which integrates agriculture, clean energy, logistics, digital access, and mobile services. The initiative, she said, is expected to directly impact over 50 million women, children, families, and vulnerable persons across all 774 LGAs.
Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak represented by Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia described the NFWP as “a powerful demonstration of what sustained, targeted financing could achieve,” noting its expansion from six to 15 states, with commitments from 32 states. He said more than 46,000 women have organised into 22,000 Women Affinity Groups, collectively saving over N4.4 billion and channelling it into small businesses.
Other dignitaries at the event included Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal, Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ahmed Dangiwa, Minister of State for the FCT Mariya Mahmoud, and the First Lady of Zamfara, Hajiya Huriyya Lawal.
Nigeria’s delegation to the UNGA is led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who is representing President Tinubu at the 80th session.
