Female leaders advocate financial inclusion, women leadership

Female leaders in policy making and civil society groups within the finance sector have called for a framework to advance gender-inclusive leadership, financial inclusion, equity and economic justice for women within the finance industry.

This call was made during the inaugural Women in Finance Breakfast Forum hosted by a women-focused nonprofit and media organization, Leading Ladies Africa (LLA) in partnership with Regal by Providus Bank and First Bank of Nigeria, to advance women’s leadership through financial and product inclusion.

Founder, Leading Ladies Africa, Francesca Uriri, stressed the organisation’s commitment to advancing gender-inclusive leadership and equity for African women and girls.

Uriri referenced a research from Women’s World Bank and the IMF showing that the Nigerian finance sector records the highest number of women globally in leadership positions.

This, she said, reflects the progress Nigerian women have made in shattering barriers and redefining opportunities.

She said, “We see that there is a large number of women doing excellent things within the finance sector. For us, this is not just one of those events, this is an event to galvanize the leadership mentality that we see present in women. It is a platform for collaboration, Bluetooth for governance and a call to action.

“Today we honour the spaces you occupy, the roles you play and the barriers you have overcome. Together we will chart a path that strengthens gender-inclusive leadership across all sectors.”

MD/CEO, Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF), Uche Uzoebo, also added her voice to the discourse that women are capable of achieving great things when supported early on and given opportunities to succeed.

“It’s high time we started putting our feet out there for women to be recognised, as they have all it takes to also be at that table. Yes, we have the cultural barrier, religion and stereotypes, but that shouldn’t stop women from having a seat at the table.

“Before now, I couldn’t think of any female CEO of a bank, but today we have more than 10 and more women are still taking up critical positions.

“We believe that when women are there, things will work better. We are not trying to say that men are not doing as much, but that our voices should be heard and we can equally do what men are doing.”

Chief Customer Experience Officer, Interswitch, Oremeyi Akah said that women are capable of great competence when given the right encouragement and stimulation.

Akah emphasised the need for education and celebrating female leadership, while sharing her aspiration through the acronym ‘RISE’, advocating for a world that will Recognise, Include, Support, and impart Equality for women.