Yemisi Izuora
More Nigerian women are getting more benefits of participating in Capital Markets operations in a move aimed at boosting gender equity in the system.
The drive is currently underway as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in its commitment to developing the capital market and increasing participation among Nigerians, is set to train selected women in capital market literacy through its training arm, the Nigerian Capital Market Institute.
The Director General (DG) of the Commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, disclosed this initiative during a meeting with the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim.
The meeting was part of SEC’s activities to commemorate International Women’s Day 2025 under the theme: “Women: The Voice of the Capital Market.”
The DG, stated that the Commission has decided to take advantage of the IWD celebration to raise more awareness on the participation of women in the capital market.
He said, “In all we do, protection is key, and investor education is also very important. We pledge to support the work you are doing by offering to provide financial knowledge to women. We will offer financial education at the NCMI to selected women once in a month.
“Women have been left out of the capital market for too long, they need to be empowered. The $1 trillion dollar economy being proposed by President Bola Tinubu cannot be possible without women. If you want to grow this market today, one of the greatest apostles will be women. There is a multiplication for everything you give the woman. Commodities trading is mainly done by women, they are involved in buying and selling of different kind of commodities.
“Given the importance of women in the development of the capital market, we feel the most auspicious time to meet with you is the International Women Day celebration. We have tagged it ‘The voice of the women in the capital market’. We need the women to push out this message. Our being here today is part of our commitment to bring about a new paradigm shift in the education of women on capital market issues.
The SEC DG therefore sought the collaboration of the Ministry to attract more Nigerian women to the capital market adding that the task ahead is enormous and the Commission is ready to give all that is required in ensuring that women are not left out.
In her response, Hajia Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim said the Ministry is ready to collaborate with the Commission to ensure the Nigerian women partake in the benefits of investing in the capital market saying that women alone can help achieve the $1 trillion economy as proposed by Mr. President.
She stated that the task ahead is enormous but assured that the Ministry is ready to go the extra mile to make good things happen for the Nigerian women.
“We are ready to collaborate with you as it will help with reporting, build momentum and sustain it. There is nothing we cannot achieve when we set to do it. Women alone can help achieve the $1 trillion economy. We are on the right track and we are already seeing positive results with the increase in allocation.
“The topic you have chosen for IWD excites me because in enabling opportunities for others, you also enable it for yourself. We are working with all the relevant agencies for digital inclusion, access to finance among others for women. We are collaborating with the financial sector on getting single digit interest rates for women”.
“In me you have found an ambassador that will see this process to realization. We will teach Nigerian women how to make money and give them the support that they need. We will use what we have to ensure that women have access to resources to learn and be financially literate”, she stated.
The Executive Commissioner Legal and Enforcement of the SEC, Ms. Frana Chukwuogor, while speaking, urged women to shun schemes that offer unreasonably high returns as they are only out to fleece unsuspecting Nigerians.
According to her, “Ponzi schemes are illegal investment behaviors that build on nothing. We need to enlighten Nigerians about the dangers of Ponzi and we think going all out to enlighten women will make our job easier.
“If anything looks too good to be true then it is not good, we want the women to tell others because women always move in groups. We want the women to protect what they have and not fall prey to Ponzi, we are starting with the women because if we have them on board then we have the whole nation. Wealth creation is one thing and the ability to sustain it is another thing”.