By Maryam Garba Hassan
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has earmarked the sum of N132Bn under its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF), to enhance Women Economic Empowerment in the country.
A statement issued at the weekend, in Abuja, by the Director Press at the ministry said the amount represents 60 per cent of the total sum of N220bn set aside by the apex bank under the scheme to address cash flow challenges of financial services in the Micro finance sub sector.
The statement said the development was the high point of a meeting held in Abuja at the weekend between the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, and the Acting Governor of the Central Bank, Mrs. Sarah Alabi.
Hajiya Maina, commended the CBN for taking the lead in promoting financial inclusion of women and other marginalizedNigerians through its various schemes such as the Revised Micro-Finance Policy, the Agricultural Credit Guaranty Scheme, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) and the newly introduced MSMEDF.
Earlier, the Acting Governor of the CBN, Mrs. Sarah Alabi, observed that in most cases, women exclusion in financial services was as a result of lack of financial literacy of the women, especially those at the grassroots.
