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#ShesIncluded Initiative
Aso Accord on Financial and Economic Inclusion
The Aso Accord signed on 25th April 2024 is a strategic initiative designed to address gaps in economic and financial inclusion by empowering underserved communities/demographics particularly women and youths by providing them with the tools and resources necessary to fully participate in the economy.
The aim is to close and break the barriers hindering women from achieving financial and economic empowerment. These barriers are especially significant in Northern Nigeria, where exclusion rates are 38% in the North-East and 47% in the North-West, in stark contrast to just 5% in the South-West and 10% in the South-South.

Background
Nigerian women encounter substantial impediments to attaining economic and financial autonomy. They confront limited access to financial services, educational opportunities, and face various socio-cultural challenges such as maternal mortality, gender-based violence, and child marriage, which impede their full and productive participation in the economy.

Factors such as inadequate education, low financial literacy, restricted credit access, insufficient gender-based policies, and elevated levels of poverty, particularly among rural women, all contribute to these challenges. Addressing these issues is imperative for women's rights, their economic progress, and Nigeria's overall development. When women are included in financial systems, lead healthy lives, and reside in non-violent environments, they drive long-term socio-economic growth by investing in education, healthcare, and family well-being. This initiative aims to create financial access, advance girl child education, improve maternal health, reduce gender-based violence, develop gender-responsive policies across all sectors, and provide capacity-building and mentorship to empower Nigerian women. The Gender Inclusion Initiative for the Aso Accord on Financial and Economic Inclusion named project: #ShesIncluded.
Gender Statistics
  • 1 in 3 Nigerian women have experienced physical, sexual or intimate partner violence by age 15 (UNFPA, 2024)
  • 30% of girls marry before 18= over 24 million child brides in Nigeria.
  • Only 43.73% of girls are enrolled in the basic level of education in Nigeria.
  • Women-owned micro enterprises= 41%, WSMEs =13% and women-owned enterprises in the formal sector = 20%
  • Women account for 70% of Nigeria’s extremely poor despite constituting only 49.3% of the population (IMF, 2024).
  • Mobile phone usage: 92% men , 88% women = 4% gap
  • Internet Usage: 54% men, 34% women = 20% gap
  • Mobile Phone Ownership: 67% men, 55% women = 12% gap
  • Overall gender gap widened between 2020 (8%) and 2023 (9%)
  • Low literacy rates (As low as 15% in Borno)
  • Poverty level (71.5% of people in the northeast live below the poverty line)
Why drive a Gender Initiative?
1. Foster Partnerships and Collaborations
Gender financial and economic inclusion cuts across different sectors and issues. There is an urgent need to get all the stakeholders to the table to form partnerships, collaborate on projects and drive a unified agenda of ending gender exclusion
2. Information and knowledge sharing
It is an opportunity to discuss and share gender specific information on current financial and economic issues and access information on global best practices and initiatives.
3. Define responsibilities across private and public sectors
Assign specific roles and responsibilities to ensure accountability and timely delivery of the Gender Initiative
Objectives
To foster financial and economic inclusion for Nigerian women by providing them with the tools, knowledge, and networks needed to take control of their financial future. Specifically, the program will adhere to the following:
• Promote Financial Literacy for Women:
emphasise the importance of equipping women with skills in budgeting, saving, investing, and managing debt to enhance financial independence and empowerment.
• Support Female Entrepreneurs:
provide resources and training to help women scale their businesses, including access to funding opportunities and comprehensive business management education.
• Facilitate Networking Opportunities:
create platforms that connect women with financial institutions, investors, and mentors, fostering relationships that support their financial and entrepreneurial growth.
• Advocate for Gender-Inclusive Policies:
promote the development, review, and update of policies that enhance financial inclusion and create greater economic opportunities for women in Nigeria.
• Improve Girl Child Education:
Ensure the enrollment and participation of the Girl Child in basic levels of education by providing scholarships and policies and creating an enabling environment for girls to participate.
• Eradicate Maternal Mortality:
Protect women and provide accessible and affordable healthcare facilities to reduce maternal mortality.
• Eradicate Gender-Based Violence:
Design policies and laws to ensure that gender-based violence is minimised and create a safe system of reporting for victims and severe punishment for perpetrators.
Strategies to achieve desired Objectives – the four pillars (4P’s)
01. Policies:
Review, update and create policies that would drive gender financial inclusion within the ecosystem.
02. Partnerships:
Foster partnerships to enable coordinated action and intervention between all the stakeholders across the private and public sector driving the gender agenda.
03. Processes:
Discuss and put in place specific processes and procedures that would enable effective implementation of gender tailored policies.
04. Pathways:
Design and deploy both Technological and physical infrastructures that would aid gender financial and economic inclusion.
Thematic Areas for the Aso Accord Gender Initiative - Project ShesIncluded
01. Girl Child Education
02. Financial and Economic Inclusion
03. Maternal Healthcare
04. Genderbased Violence