- CBN Boosts Credit Facilities to Female Entrepreneurs
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it is partnering the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) in a bid to improve credit facilities for female entrepreneurs in the country.
The Head, Strategy Coordination Office, Financial Inclusion Secretariat Development, CBN’s Finance Department, Mr Attah Joseph, said at NCWD office in Abuja at the weekend.
Joseph said there was need to improve women’s access to finance; saying the meeting was geared toward finding possible initiatives that could address the challenges faced by women in accessing financial services.
According to him, finance is very essential to growth, development and general welfare because it affects business activities and basic human needs. He lamented the lingering disparity which shows that women access to funds is lower than men despite their obvious importance to nation building.
“Our 2017 survey shows that 42.3 per cent of men have accounts while only 30 per cent of women do not have accounts and access to interventions,” he said.
Joseph said countries with more bank accounts and more access to finance are better in human development, saying there is huge connection between finance and wellbeing of countries worldwide.
Responding, the Director-General, NCWD, Mrs Mary Ekpere-Eta said the centre only gets intervention from Federal Government, adding that the funds were not enough.
Ekpere-Eta therefore, sought assistance from the CBN to enable the reactivation of various women development centres across the country.
According to her, interventions can reach more women, particularly at the grassroots, through these centres.
