The Federal Government, in partnership with the World Bank and the Ekiti State Government, has officially flagged off the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up (NFWP-SU) and the disbursement of Community Investment Funds (CIF) to Women Affinity Groups in Ekiti State.
The launch, led by the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, marks a major expansion of the Federal Government’s women empowerment and financial inclusion agenda under the Renewed Hope framework.
Speaking during the event in Ekiti State, the Minister described the intervention as a major shift from policy conversations to practical economic impact for women and families across communities.
“There are moments in the life of a nation when policy becomes present and presence becomes impact, when government ceases to be distant and becomes wealth in homes. It becomes felt in markets, it becomes felt on farms and it becomes felt in the enterprises of the people. Today is such a moment,” she said.
The Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up is designed to tackle structural barriers limiting women’s participation in economic activities, particularly access to finance, markets, land ownership opportunities and productive enterprise support.
According to the Minister, the first phase of the programme reached more than 450,000 women across Nigeria, while the current scale-up phase is targeting approximately five million women nationwide.
She explained that the project goes beyond direct funding and focuses on building sustainable economic systems around women through organised community structures known as Women Affinity Groups.
“This programme is designed to expand financial inclusion, to strengthen enterprise development, to build skills and to deepen community-based economic organisation through the Women Affinity Groups,” she stated.
The Minister disclosed that implementation activities in Ekiti State, which began in June 2024, have already produced close to 1,500 Women Affinity Groups involving over 25,000 women actively participating in different productive ventures and income-generating activities.
According to her, the programme is already creating visible economic outcomes at the grassroots level through savings culture, investment participation and enterprise development among women.
“These figures represent women who are earning, women who are saving, women who are investing, women who are supporting their households and strengthening local economies,” she added.
A major highlight of the initiative is the Community Investment Fund, which the Minister clarified is different from traditional grants or commercial loans.
She described the CIF as a structured community financing model directly managed by women groups themselves under transparent and collective accountability systems.
“The CIF is not a handout, not a conventional loan. It is structured community capital, disbursed directly to Women Affinity Groups, managed by them with transparency and shared responsibility,” she explained.
The Minister also linked the programme to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of 2026 as the Year of Families and Social Development, noting that women empowerment remains critical to economic stability, poverty reduction and community development.
According to her, strengthening women economically creates stronger households and more resilient communities.
“When women rise, a family is strengthened. When families strengthen, our communities flourish. When our communities flourish, our nation will prosper,” she said.
Ekiti State Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, who also spoke during the launch, described the event as the fulfilment of the state government’s earlier commitment towards joining the programme.
The Governor recalled that Ekiti State contributed ₦450 million in 2024 as part of the qualification requirements for participation in the initiative.
“In 2024, for us to qualify, we paid the sum of 450 million naira because that was the requirement for a state to qualify,” Oyebanji stated.