In a bid to strengthen financial inclusion policy and empower women, particularly at the grassroots level, Lagos State Government has commenced the process of inculcating financial literacy for indigent women in hard-to-reach communities as an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The State Government’s initiative was disclosed by the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih-Awokoya, during a press conference titled “Promoting Human Capital Development through Advocacy for Women’s Financial Inclusion in Hard-to-Reach Communities.” at Alausa, Ikeja area of Lagos State on Thursday.
Dr. Finnih-Awokoya revealed that the first phase of the project, put together by the Office of Sustainable Development Goals in partnership with some development partners, which include Africa HCD+, Opay, and Cowrywise, will target 100 women per community in 14 different local government areas of Lagos State.
She said the mission is a critical success factor of the Sustainable Development Goals, noting that “through this project, we can accomplish an equitable Lagos where every woman thrives irrespective of her circumstances. This is a well-positioned goal to create a ripple effect for future generations.
Finnih-Awokoya said the project expresses the SDGs’ responsibility and steady efforts to bridge the financial inclusion gap, especially for women in communities that have gone underserved for years.
She said: “If we are to achieve lasting success with our mandate, we must mandatorily carry everyone along. This advocacy project forms a significant aspect of the LightHouse Project and the overall mandate of the Office of the Sustainable Development Goals to ameliorate the living standards of these hard-to-reach areas through inclusiveness for women.
“Out of the 20 local government areas in Lagos, about 14 are hard-to-reach communities, and this makes up 10% of the state population. With the unrelenting support of UNICEF, we have conducted a need-based assessment and established the unique challenge of financial invisibility in these communities.
“Consequently, we intend to illuminate the issue of financial exclusion in the focus communities and promote awareness of its extent. With funding from Africa HCD+ and our collaboration with two private sector giants, Opay and Cowrywise, we can nudge this project by providing crucial financial literacy education required to cope in society.”
Dr. Finnih-Awokoya stressed further that “the involvement of other principal partners such as the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA), and the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) will see to it that these women are registered and captured in the financial system and are privy to prospective opportunities.
“Collaboration is evidently the major approach to attaining these efforts, and this is why the Sustainable Development Goals has forged decisive partnerships with these relevant institutions. Nonetheless, we extend an invitation to more institutions to join us in this goal towards human capital development, generally and specifically. Human capital development matters because it reflects the strength and growth of society. But it must make room to include women, particularly those at a disadvantage.”
Also speaking, representatives of the partners on the project with the Lagos State Office of Sustainable Development Goals appreciated the efforts of the Lagos State Government in supporting financial inclusion for women and promoting awareness among them to empower them.
The representative of OPAY financial institution, Mr Adedotun Adekunle, said the essence of the programme is to get a lot of people into the financial ecosystem, adding that the nexus of what they are doing as a corporate financial organization is to get as many men and women into the financial ecosystem, get them educated, and empower them to do business so that they can earn a living.
In his address, the representative of Cowry Wise, Mr. Oyeyinka Oyekan, said “We are eager to partner with the office of the Sustainable Development Goal to inculcate financial integrity into indigently saturated areas of Lagos State through the human capital development initiative. We believe that financial integrity is not a privilege but a fundamental human right.”
He noted that by fostering financial literacy, they aimed to reduce barriers to economic participation and enable long-term participation for individuals and their families, particularly underserved communities, because they need to take control of their financial future and, by extension, introduce their financial institution.
