The ECOWAS Parliament has called on regional parliamentarians to step up efforts towards ensuring West African women’s financial inclusion and investments to promote female entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.

Mémounatou Ibrahima spoke at the closing ceremony of the parliament’s Third Extraordinary Session and Second Parliamentary Seminar on Wednesday in Lome, Togo.

She said that the parliament was committed to addressing the challenges militating against West African women, represented by the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA).

According to Ms Ibrahima, member states should ensure that women have access to the resources they need, such as bank accounts, loans and investment opportunities, to realise their potential.

“It is clear that women are change agents, and they should be supported in the key role that they play if we want to speed up the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Our collective responsibility is, therefore, to ensure that financial inclusion of women is not limited to access to financial services, but we must ensure it becomes a fundamental human right and a pillar of economic equality.

“Clearly, the path to true financial inclusion and economic empowerment calls for concerted efforts of all members of society to drive policies that will foster equity and enable women to overcome the obstacles facing them,” the speaker said.

Ms Ibrahima noted that the path to financial inclusion and economic empowerment was a long process and solicited intensive advocacy for equitable opportunities that would enable women’s entrepreneurship to blossom.

“Let us commit ourselves to the path where every woman will realise her full potential, where economic barriers are eliminated, and financial inclusion is a reality for all. This is how we can break the chain of poverty within our families and communities,” she said.

ECOFEPA president Veronica Sesay said investment and financial inclusion for women would make the subregion more prosperous and egalitarian, devoid of oppression and discrimination against women.

(NAN)