Ayodele Olalere
Lagos State government through the Office of the Sustainable Development has partnered with financial institutions such as Opay, Cowrywise and HCD+ on the promotion of financial literacy and inclusion for women.
The Project titled ‘Promoting Human Capital Development through Advocacy for Women’s Financial Inclusion in Hard-to-Reach Communities’ is aimed at educating women on the need to secure their financial future.
While speaking at a briefing on Thursday, the Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals, SDG, to the governor, Oreoluwa Finnih Awokoya said women in 14 local governments in Lagos State are still lagging behind in financial literacy and will be targeted under the project.
She added that the state is concerned about bridging the financial inclusion gap between men and women ‘especially in communities that have gone undeserved for years.’
“If we are to achieve lasting success with our mandate, we must mandatorily carry everyone along. In. It is the overall mandate of the Office of Sustainable Development Goals to ameliorate the living standards of these hard-to-reach areas through inclusiveness for women,” she said.
She said with funding from HCD+ and collaboration with Opay and Cowrywise, women in affected areas will be educated on how to use the Point of Sales machine, POS, the importance of having a National Identification Number, NIN as well as registering with Lagos State Residents Registration Agency, LASRRA.
The Special Adviser further said the financial education will help the women to secure their financial future and offer them several financial opportunities, adding that 100 women will be selected from each community under each of the 14 local governments.
“Human Capital development matters because it reflects the strength and growth of society but it must make room to.include women especially those at a disadvantage.”
The Chief Operating Officer, Opay, Adedotun Adekunle, said the company is excited to partner with Lagos State in financial enlightenment of women.
He said the company has concentrated on men and youth in the past but is now focusing on financial inclusiveness of women technologically.
The Representative of Cowrywise, Oyeyinka Oyekan said inculcating financial literacy to women is part of the SDG, adding that the project will enable the company to extend financial education to women on the need for them to take charge of their financial future.