Minister: Nigeria can’t achieve $1trn economy if women remain in margins

Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, minister of women affairs, says Nigeria cannot achieve its $1 trillion economy ambition if women remain on the margins.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim spoke on Wednesday at the gender and inclusion summit 2025 (GS25), which was themed ‘New Voices and New Approaches for Accelerating an Inclusive Society’. The event was convened by the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC).

“Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy cannot be achieved if women, who represent over 50% of our population, remain constrained to the margins,” she said.

“Already, women own 43 percent of MSMEs in Nigeria, yet only 9 percent of them have access to formal credit. Women’s representation in leadership remains below expectations, and girls in rural areas are still twice as likely to be out of secondary school as boys.

“These, amongst others, are stark reminders of the barriers we must continue to confront. But they are also signals of where the greatest opportunities lie.”

Udeme Ufot, chairman of PIC, said progress is being made in accelerating inclusion, but not at the required pace.

Ufot said social inequalities continue to widen, with women and marginalised groups disproportionately affected.

“This summit challenges us to think differently, act boldly, and to accelerate inclusivity as a national and collective priority,” he said.

“It is seen in the market woman who cannot access credit, the young girl denied education, the woman who dies in childbirth due to lack of healthcare, or the person with disability unable to access public spaces or employment. Each of these is a call to action.”

Delivering a keynote address, Oley Dibba-Wadda, founder and CEO of the Gam Africa Institute for Leadership (GAIL), challenged participants to reclaim their power through voice and action.

“We must use our voices and tell our stories. Not all will agree with you, but you will be amazed at how many lives you may save, how many people you will awaken, how many people will feel inspired to effect the change they want to see,” she said, while urging the audience to abandon narratives of victimhood and embrace agency.

“No one is going to give us our power back, because if we feel they have it, we must have given it to them. Our new mantra must be to speak up and speak out, get up, dust off, and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We are not victims. We are, and must be, creators of our realities,” she added.