Stakeholders Seek Dedicated Banking Desks For Women With Disabilities

Tosin Kolade
Sep, Fri, 2025

General News

Stakeholders seek dedicated banking desks for women with disabilities

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By Martha Agas

Stakeholders in the disability community have urged banks to provide special desk for People With Disabilities (PWDs) particularly women, to ease their access to micro-credit facilities.

They made the call at a policy dialogue on ‘Disability-Inclusive Economic Empowerment’ convened by the Empower To Thrive Development Initiative (ETTDI) on Friday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dialogue was part of activities for ETTDI’s`Empower Her Ability Project` funded by the French Embassy.

Mrs Esther Bature, the Country Advocacy Coordinator for Sightsavers Foundation International, speaking during a panel discussion, said such units would address the concerns of PWDs in accessing credit facilities.

According to her, which are often not adequately catered for in the general banking pool.

The panel discussion was entitled “Unlocking Finance, Markets and Skills for Women with Disabilities”.

Bature advocated that such units must have trained staff capable of handling enquiries from the hearing impaired and the blind to ensure easier consultation.

She noted that general consultations at financial institutions were often less private due to the involvement of third parties, adding that this could discourage women from seeking microcredit facilities.

Similarly, Chioma Egede, an Executive of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), said the association would continue to advocate for improved access to microcredit facilities, including the removal of barriers to physical access in financial institutions.

In the same vein, Mohammed Isa, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, said that women with disabilities in Nigeria faced multiple and intersecting challenges, including barriers to credit, loans and financial services.

Isa represented by his Director of Media and Communications, Lanre Oloyede, said that this was due to stereotypes and structural inequalities which required the right policies, targeted interventions and inclusive partnerships to address.

Earlier in his remarks, ETTDI Executive Director, Dr Ima Chima, said the dialogue was aimed at bridging the gap between policy and practice to unlock opportunities for women with disabilities in business and entrepreneurship.

Chima, represented by Dr Olusola Adeoye, Programmes Manager, Empower Her Ability Project, said women with disabilities, among Nigeria’s 25 million PWDs, face double exclusion from finance, skills and markets due to gender and disability.

He said the event was aimed at developing a clear policy recommendation to advance disability inclusive finance, skills training and entrepreneurship support backed by commitments from government and private actors.

He said the participants would examine the barriers faced by women with disabilities and explore opportunities offered by financial inclusion strategies, MSMEs policies and training institutions.

“We want to hear directly from women entrepreneurs themselves, whose voices must guide our actions.

“Most importantly, work together to shape practical commitment that will be captured in the Abuja communique on Disability -Inclusive Economic Empowerment,” he said.

According to him, for Nigeria to unlock the full potential of its economy and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), women with disabilities must be empowered to participate fully in economic activities.

“Inclusion is not charity. It is smart economics, social justice and a national imperative”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Empower Her Ability Project will enhance the capacity of 25 young women of 18 to 40 years within six months.

This is through training in entrepreneurship, financial management and business planning.

The project aims to facilitate access to markets for the beneficiaries and link them to finance and business support networks. (NAN)

Edited by Deborah Coker

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