Mohamadou Musa-Njie, the high commissioner of The Gambia to Nigeria, says there is a need for Africa, especially the ECOWAS sub-region, to promote inclusivity for everyone, including women.

Mr Musa-Njie made this submission during the unveiling of the Women Chamber of Commerce, Credit Cooperative Union in Abuja.

He said WCCI-CCU was a good initiative and congratulated the union for coming together with a common purpose that would foster collective growth.

He added that the president of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, had unwavering support for inclusivity, ensuring women’s voices were heard; hence, the WCCI programme was unveiled in Gambia.

In an address of welcome, Zainab Mohammed, chief executive officer of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed the resilience of women in financial management, especially regarding savings.

According to her, across the world, 70 per cent of the 10 million women-owned SMEs are either unbanked or under-banked, representing a staggering $300 billion market gap.

“In Nigeria alone, 40 per cent of MSMEs are owned by women, yet they struggle to access the capital they need to grow and thrive,’’ she said.

Nurudeen Zaura, technical adviser to the president on economic and financial inclusion, said the cooperative society would empower women to make informed financial decisions, strengthen their economic positions and support their families.

Mr Zaura was represented by Oluseye Adebiyi, director of policy and programmes for the presidential committee on economic and financial inclusion.

Sarah Areo, a National Council of Women Societies partner, said women needed to come together to grow through cooperatives.

Ms Areo, also a director of the Area Council Service Secretariat, said that women with small businesses could break barriers of lack of access to funds.

(NAN)