Leveraging technological innovation to deliver women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion (WEEFI) “Olooja App’’

Abstract

Although Africa has become a hub for technological innovation, there is a lot of catching up to do in an ever-changing digital world. In comparison to other regions in the global south, Africa continues to struggle with digital illiteracy, as well as the affordability and accessibility of digital and financial services (DFS). To avoid widening the digital divide and worsening unemployment and poverty, African leaders must collaborate with the private sector, civil society organisations (CSOs), and fintech start-ups to quickly adjust, adapt, and capitalise on the digital transformation. Women in Africa face multiple inequalities, leaving them financially dependent, digitally illiterate, unemployed, or lacking the entrepreneurial ability or skills to start or support their businesses. Access to DFS, in particular, has widened the income divide between men and women. When technology is leveraged to offer job opportunities by creating innovative solutions to socio-economic issues and as a platform for users to develop sustainable businesses, women can become authors of their financial independence. African leaders can address digital inequality and close the digital gender gap while also ensuring women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion (WEEFI). To that end, this brief recommends investing in entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as promoting gender sensitization and mainstreaming in policies, particularly those focusing on economic and financial inclusion. Furthermore, transforming the systemic financial exclusion of women can be achieved by adopting a multifaceted approach that promotes economic empowerment and financial inclusion by building resilient financial infrastructure, fostering the growth of technology-led financial economies, and creating an environment conducive to the successful implementation of policies. Finally, the brief introduces the ‘Olooja App,’ a prototype for a small-scale electronic and mobile commerce (e-commerce and m-commerce) initiative that can be utilised in solving some of the challenges in Ifewara, Osun State, Nigeria.