Mrs. Aishah N. Ahmad, the Central Bank Deputy Governor in charge of Financial System Stability (FSS), has alongside other leading Nigerian women suggested a number of measures to bridge the digital gender gap in the country.
She was speaking at a webinar organized by the Central Bank held on Thursday to commemorate the 2023International Women’s Day.
Mrs Ahmad who hosted the Coffee Table Chat with Dr.Omobola Johnson, called for broad private and public sector commitment to gender parity and ensuring that women, youth and rural dwellers have access to digital financial services.
Mrs. Ahmad noted that despite increased digital mainstreaming, women were less likely than men to have access to technology, creating a digital gender gap which perpetuates women’s economic exclusion. She reasoned that digital innovation could be the missing link and a winning strategy for fixing the parity problem and deepening access to financial services.
In her interventions, the Special Guest Speaker, Dr. Omobola Johnson, a Senior Partner with TLcom Capital and Nigeria’s pioneer Minister of Communications Technology, emphasized that inclusive innovation that is gender sensitive was critical to reducing the gender exclusion gap.
Dr. Johnson also advocated for a catch-them-young strategy to encourage females to pursue careers in technology and the establishment of special funds for female led tech businesses to achieve greater participation in the digital economy.
She particularly underscored the importance of making Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education attractive for girls by showcasing role models in the sector. She highlighted the potential for digital financial services to enable not just financial services but important interventions in health, agriculture and SMEs. She, therefore, urged men to be deliberate in mentoring high-achieving women and their daughters in their pursuit of male-dominated careers like STEM.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, equally stressed the need for women to learn digital skills to participate effectively alongside their male counterparts in digital financial services. Whilst commending the CBN for its efforts at enhancing financial inclusion, she disclosed that CBN and some agencies of government, such as the Bank of Industry (BOI), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), have special funds that women can access for support.
Discussions during the panel session at the webinar focused on the strategic role of digital technology and targeted-out-of-the-box approaches to closing the digital gender gap, guaranteeing women’s access to the digital economy and improving digital financial inclusion and broad-based economic participation of women.
Speakers at the session, which was moderated by Mr. Chibuzo Efobi, Director of Financial Policy and Regulation CBN, included Mr. Roosvelt Ogbonna, Managing Director Access Bank Ltd; Wendy Teleki, Head Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) Secretariat World Bank Group; Dr (Mrs.) Markie Idowu, MD/CEO of Xpress Payment Solutions Limited; Mrs. Farida Yahya, Vice President, Partnerships Shecluded; and Mrs HawwauGambo, Assistant Director and Head of Media Relations, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The webinar had in attendance more than 1,000 participants across diverse sectors of the Nigerian economy, including other Deputy Governors and departmental Directors of the Bank.