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make sound financial decisions and have positive engagements with financial institutions . Basically , Efina ' s access to financial services surveys ( which commenced in 2008 ) show that there is an obvious gender gap in financial access . Specifically , in 2014 , 21.4 million females ( 42.7 % of the total adult female population ) were financially excluded compared to 15.6 million males , that is , 35.8 % of the total adult male population . In 2012 , 43.5 % of the total adult female population was financially excluded compared to 36.1 % of the total adult male population . Closing the gender gap must necessarily start with recognizing the extent of the problem . Financial institutions in the banking sector are now mandatorily required under Principle 5 of the Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles , to develop products and services that target women . But with low levels of knowledge and awareness of financial products and services being the financial capability dimension that most characterizes the demand-side in Nigeria , achieving gender parity in financial inclusion will evidently require more than the availability of women-specific offerings .
Import of Financial Literacy Baseline Survey Crucially , the recently released Nigeria Financial
1
Literacy Baseline Survey ( FinLit Survey ), has identified market segments in which women p r e d o m i n a te , fo r ex a mple , farming , microenterprise and marginalized rural communities particularly those in the North West and North East geopolitical zones . By having recourse to credible empirical evidence from the FinLit Survey about their financial behaviour , attitudes and practices , sources of advice and media usage , it should be possible to design targeted financial education initiatives aimed at driving uptake and usage of financial products and services by women . This is a far more effective approach to achieving gender parity in financial inclusion than simply mandating financial institutions to demonstrate progress in providing women-specific offerings . In other words , financial education will be critical to achieving gender parity in financial inclusion in Nigeria .
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Network on Financial Literacy Launches
8 March 2016 – At a meeting held at the DIN Resource Centre , leading players in the financial literacy field in Nigeria agreed to launch a new network , the National Financial Inclusion Network ( NAFIN ), that will advocate for and amplify the key message that achieving financial capability of all Nigerians is integral to the drive for financial inclusion . It was also agreed that NAFIN ' s vision and mission statement shall be as follows :
Vision : A Nigeria where all persons are financially capable for social and economic development .
Mission statement : A national network championing financial inclusion through advocacy , networking and knowledge sharing to all stakeholders .
NAFIN will only have registered organizations as members . The founding members are Ajapaworld ; LYNX Nigeria ; Development Initiatives Network ( DIN ); Junior Achievement Nigeria ( JAN ); Mercy Corps Nigeria ; SOS Children ' s Villages ; Fate Foundation and Financial Literacy for All . The launch of NAFIN is in clear recognition that the nonprofit / charitable sector should have a cohesive platform for sustaining effective stakeholder engagements . NAFIN ' s schedule of activities for 2016 will be released shortly .
1 . The Nigeria Financial Literacy Baseline Survey was published by the CBN in 2015 . It involved a sample size of over 13,000 respondents from both rural and urban areas with 50.3 % being women .
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