The ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, Memounatou Ibrahima, has urged regional parliamentarians to prioritize West African women’s financial inclusion and investments.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the parliament’s Third Extraordinary Session and Second Parliamentary Seminar in Lome, Togo, Ibrahima emphasized the importance of empowering women to promote female entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
“It is clear that women are change agents and they should be supported in the key role that they play, if we want to speed up the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Ibrahima stated.
She stressed that member states should ensure women have access to essential resources such as bank accounts, loans, and investment opportunities.
Ibrahima noted that financial inclusion and economic empowerment require concerted efforts to drive policies fostering equity and overcoming obstacles facing women.
Also speaking at the event, President of ECOFEPA, MP Veronica Sesay, highlighted the significance of investment and financial inclusion for women, stating, “Entrepreneurship is the gateway to women’s financial redemption.”
Former Liberian Vice President Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor emphasized the importance of leveraging the Global Task Force to Empower One Million Women in the Trade Industry, which has opened opportunities for West African women.
Howard-Taylor also urged regional leaders to ensure women’s access to credit facilities, citing a report that closing the gender gap could trigger a $3 trillion GDP growth rate globally.
