NATIONAL WOMEN ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT POLICY

What Is This Policy?

The National Women's Economic Empowerment Policy provides the framework for removing the structural barriers that prevent Nigerian women from fully participating in the economy as entrepreneurs, farmers, professionals, and investors. It coordinates finance, land access, skills, market access, and legal reforms to close Nigeria's persistent gender economic gap.

Who Does It Target?

Women entrepreneurs and business owners at micro, small, and medium enterprise levels Female smallholder farmers, who represent approximately 60 to 70% of Nigeria's food producers but own less than 10% of agricultural land Women in the informal economy who lack savings, insurance, or access to formal financial services Girls and young women in secondary and tertiary education who need pathways into high-income economic sectors

What Does It Aim to Achieve?

Close the gender economic gap by increasing women's contribution to GDP from approximately 28% to 45% by 2030 Increase women's ownership of formal business enterprises from approximately 23% to 40% by 2025 Ensure women farmers have equal access to land, credit, extension services, and inputs Reduce the gender financial inclusion gap: currently 9 percentage points fewer women than men have formal financial accounts

Key Features

Access to Finance: Dedicated women's windows in CBN's MSMEDF, BOI's Women in Business Fund, and the Development Bank of Nigeria's SME lending programme Land Rights Reform: Policy advocates amendments to the Land Use Act to grant women equal rights to access and own farmland in their own name Digital Financial Services: Women-targeted mobile banking and digital payment adoption programmes through NFIS 3.0's gender-responsive financial inclusion strategy Market Access: Trade fairs, export promotion, and AfCFTA women's trader programmes connecting women entrepreneurs to regional and global markets WISE-P: SMEDAN's Women in Self-Employment Programme provides training, mentoring, and seed capital to women-owned micro enterprises Legal Protections: Policy advocates for inheritance rights, equal contract capacity, and protection from discriminatory customary law provisions that restrict women's economic activity

Current Status

Rollout Stage: Active; Renewed Hope Women Agenda 2023 elevated WEE to a presidential priority Implementing Body: Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (FMWA); SMEDAN; CBN; NFIS Secretariat; UN Women Nigeria Coverage: National; targeted interventions for the North-West and North-East, where female economic participation is lowest Funding: FMWA budget, CBN MSMEDF women's window, IFC Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), World Bank Nigeria Women Empowerment Project

How to Access

Women Entrepreneurs: Apply for women's business loans at any CBN-licensed microfinance bank or through the BOI Women in Business Fund: boi.ng Female Farmers: Register with State ADPs for women's agricultural credit and land access support; engage FADAMA III+ women's groups Training: Access SMEDAN's WISE-P training and start-up capital at smedan.gov.ng Contact: FMWA: womenaffairs.gov.ng | SMEDAN: smedan.gov.ng | UN Women Nigeria: africa.unwomen.org/nigeria

Official Resources

Website: womenaffairs.gov.ng | smedan.gov.ng | boi.ng Contact: Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, 5 Abidjan Street, Zone 3, Wuse, Abuja Policy Summary | Source: FMWA, UN Women Nigeria, IFC Women Entrepreneurs Programme, World Bank Gender Nigeria, CBN MSMEDF Women Window | February 2026

Legal Framework

The National Women's Economic Empowerment Policy operates under the National Gender Policy, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, the Labour Act, and the Land Use Act 1978. It aligns with the Microfinance Policy Framework, Nigeria's obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Maputo Protocol, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5 — Gender Equality, SDG 8 — Decent Work and Economic Growth).