Nigeria’s national development strategy under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has increasingly placed women at the centre of economic growth, peacebuilding and social stability.
This aligns women’s empowerment with broader national priorities under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Under the agenda, policies targeting women have expanded beyond social welfare to structured economic, environmental and security frameworks designed to integrate women more fully into national productivity.
Women account for 49.43 per cent of Nigeria’s population, a demographic position that continues to validate their participation as critical to national growth and development.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described investment in women as a strategic pathway to sustainable national development, with the 2025 Federal Budget reflecting this approach through increased allocations for women-led enterprises, agriculture, climate action and social protection.
Speaking on the policy direction, President Tinubu said “The 2025 budget’s unprecedented allocation for women’s enterprise is not merely expenditure, it is strategic investment in our nation’s most valuable asset, generating returns through inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.”
In 2025, the President launched the Renewed Hope Social Impact Programme for Women, Children and Families as part of efforts to strengthen social and economic inclusion nationwide.
One of the flagship initiatives under this framework is the Women Agro Value Expansion Programme (WAVE), implemented by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to strengthen women’s participation in agricultural value chains, enterprise development and digital skills.
According to the Ministry, WAVE has provided digital and enterprise skills training to more than 50,000 women, approved ₦12 billion in credit facilities, and expanded access to social protection schemes across several states, with the programme designed to boost food security, increase household incomes and strengthen rural economies.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the programme reflects the government’s intention to integrate women more fully into national productivity and economic growth.
According to the Minister, “Nigeria’s agricultural transformation will rise or fall on the shoulders of women. When women are empowered, they rise with extraordinary impact, lifting households, strengthening communities, and securing our nation’s food future. Through WAVE, we are mobilising women-led enterprises to execute 30 per cent of national infrastructure projects by 2027, transforming female entrepreneurs from beneficiaries into essential partners in building Nigeria’s future.”
Also advancing this agenda is the PowerHer 774 initiative, which is on course to provide clean and affordable energy access to three million women across all 774 local government areas in the country.
Complementing these efforts is the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU), which targets the empowerment of over four million women nationwide through access to finance, skills development and institutional support at the community level.
Progress under the programme includes the formation and strengthening of more than 22,000 Women Affinity Groups and support for over 458,000 women with savings and access to financial services, demonstrating strong demand for expanded scale.
Beyond economic participation, the Federal Government has reinforced women’s roles in peace and security governance with the launch of Nigeria’s Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2025–2030) in Abuja in December 2025, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.
The plan was inaugurated by the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, on behalf of the Federal Government, with participation from federal ministries, security agencies, development partners and civil society organisations.
NAP III builds on previous action plans by strengthening women’s participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, protection, crisis response and post-conflict recovery, while improving coordination and accountability across federal and sub-national institutions.
Oluremi Tinubu noted that women’s economic participation strengthens education outcomes, healthcare access and community stability, describing these factors as foundations of long-term national development.
In the energy and environmental space, the Federal Government has identified clean cooking energy as a critical intervention linking women’s welfare, public health, climate action and economic empowerment through initiatives driven by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in collaboration with sector stakeholders.
Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the transition from firewood and biomass to clean cooking solutions is essential to reducing health risks faced by women and girls, while addressing deforestation and environmental degradation.
As part of this effort, the Ministry inaugurated a National Steering Committee on Clean Cooking Energy for Women to support the adoption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and other clean cooking technologies among women-led households and enterprises.
The initiative targets the provision of clean cooking solutions to up to one million households and positions women as both beneficiaries and value-chain participants through entrepreneurship, distribution and last-mile delivery, in line with Nigeria’s clean energy commitments.
Women are also being integrated into environmental and climate action initiatives. The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said Nigerian women are increasingly shaping climate solutions rather than being treated solely as climate victims.
Through the National Green Women Platform and land restoration programmes under the Great Green Wall, women are participating more actively in climate adaptation, mitigation and environmental sustainability efforts.
As part of its inclusive economic empowerment agenda, the Federal Government also launched the Women in Mobility Programme at Eagle Square, Abuja, in partnership with the Credit Corporation of Nigeria.
The programme commenced with 1,000 pioneer beneficiaries in Abuja and is expected to scale to 10,000 women nationwide by the first quarter of 2026.
Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the initiative is designed to provide structured credit access for women to participate in Nigeria’s growing mobility sector, including ride-hailing services, delivery operations and mobile trading, with participants receiving ongoing support through training, digital tools, safety guidelines and operational backing via Women Empowerment Hubs across all local government areas.
International development partners have acknowledged Nigeria’s evolving approach. United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, described Nigeria’s women-focused investment framework as a development approach that “delivers measurable societal and economic returns.”
Similarly, World Trade Organisation Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, noted that recent women-focused grants have enabled thousands of female entrepreneurs to scale operations and contribute to growth in non-oil exports.
Observers say the initiatives reflect a coordinated national strategy linking women’s economic participation, peacebuilding, clean energy access and environmental action with national growth objectives, while stakeholders continue to urge timely, gender-responsive budget releases to strengthen women’s agency and sustain inclusive development.
Lateefah Ibrahim