An expert at the Gender & Inclusion Summit 2026 (GS26) has urged stakeholders to ensure that innovation is relevant, accessible and inclusive, particularly for underserved communities.
Nigeria Country Director and Regional Portfolio Director, West and Central Africa, at Pathfinder International, Dr Amina Dorayo, gave the advice while speaking at the summit in Abuja.
Dorayi, who was Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee of GS26, said women, girls, young people and frontline workers should be involved in designing solutions intended for them.
She said, “innovation, on its own, is not impact,” stressing that innovation without inclusion could not produce tangible improvements in the lives of underserved people and communities.
Dorayi urged stakeholders who benefit from innovation to examine who might be left behind and what would be required to enable underserved communities to participate in designing solutions.
She said Pathfinder International’s experience of working with communities and health systems showed the importance of combining innovation with evidence, systems strengthening with community ownership, and policy development with practical implementation.
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“Because sometimes the most important innovation is not something we invent in a laboratory or design in a boardroom. Sometimes it is already happening in communities,” she said.
She urged government, civil society, the private sector, development partners, academia, innovators, young people and communities to work as partners and ensure that GS26 produces actionable ideas, sustainable partnerships, trackable commitments and solutions reaching those furthest from opportunity.
The issue of access to opportunities was also discussed during a GS26 session titled, “Creativity That Pays: Expanding Pathways to Opportunity in Nigeria’s Creative Economy”.
The session was moderated by Communications Adviser, Hanifa Babasadiq, with Bank of Industry Deputy Manager, Abuja, Maimuna Awwal Shehu, highlighting barriers limiting creatives’ access to finance.
Shehu said conventional lending requirements could be difficult for creative enterprises because banks often required collateral and tangible assets, while creatives frequently relied on intellectual property.
She said formalising businesses was an important step towards accessing finance, while asset financing and working capital could support the development of creative enterprises.
Shehu disclosed that the IDICE Fund, managed by the Bank of Industry, provides about N617 million specifically for the creative industry, adding that blended grants and loans could provide comfort to financiers.
Responding to a stakeholder’s question on accessibility, she clarified that the IDICE Fund is a loan accessed through online applications.
On financing opportunities for girls and creatives in hard-to-reach communities, Shehu encouraged organisations supporting them to apply, stressing that businesses must first be formalised.
She also identified digital technology and data infrastructure as potential avenues for Nigerian creatives to reach international audiences and generate revenue.
Beyond access to finance, Shehu called for stronger legal structures to enable creatives to register and monetise intellectual property, which she said could also increase its potential use as collateral.
The submissions reinforced Dorayi’s call for solutions that move from innovation to measurable impact, particularly for people furthest from opportunity.
“Because ultimately, innovation counts only when it reaches people. Inclusion counts only when people have voice, agency and opportunity. And development counts only when no one is left behind,” Doyari said.
Themed “From Agenda to Actions: Making Innovations Count for the Last Mile”, GS26 was organised by the Policy Innovation Centre.
