FG Launches ‘Happy Woman App’ to Expand Women’s Economic Inclusion
The Federal Government has launched a new digital platform, the Happy Woman App, as part of efforts to deepen women’s economic inclusion across Nigeria.
According to a statement from the Presidency, the platform is a secure digital interface designed to connect Nigerian women to finance, skills development, markets, essential services, and government support.
The launch coincided with President Bola Tinubu’s announcement of the expansion of the Nigeria for Women Programme (NFWP) to reach 25 million beneficiaries nationwide. The scale-up builds on a pilot phase implemented in six states, which benefitted more than one million women.
Speaking at the presidential launch of the programme’s scale-up at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, President Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said Nigeria’s development aspirations could not be achieved without placing women at the centre of national planning.
“A nation that relegates its women is a nation bound for implosion,” the President said, noting that women play a critical role in national productivity, family stability, and community resilience.
President Tinubu described the target of reaching 25 million women as ambitious but achievable, and called on the World Bank to strengthen its financing, technical support, and innovation partnerships to support the nationwide expansion of the programme. He also underscored the importance of technology, stating that digital inclusion has become central to effective service delivery and national competitiveness.
As part of the administration’s broader social agenda, the President designated 2026 as the Year of Social Development and Families in Nigeria, directing coordinated action across federal, state, and local governments. The declaration follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed during his official visit to Turkey in January, aimed at strengthening family cohesion and improving social welfare systems.
In 2024, the Federal Government appealed to the World Bank to extend the deadline of the $100 million Nigeria for Women Project, originally set for March 29, 2024, to June 30, 2024. The request, contained in a letter dated January 23, 2024, marked a second restructuring attempt to allow for the completion of livelihood activities and the disbursement of unutilized funds under the Livelihoods Programme component.
The NFWP, approved on June 27, 2018, through an International Development Association (IDA) credit of $100 million, is designed to improve women’s livelihoods by engaging them in sustainable economic activities and business ventures.
The project is structured around four components: building social capital through Women Affinity Groups, providing livelihood support for individual and collective enterprises, fostering innovation and partnerships, and strengthening project management, monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems.
