Nigeria has taken a major step toward reshaping women’s economic participation with the launch of the Happy Woman App, a digital platform designed to connect women across the country to finance, skills, markets, and essential support services. The platform is the digital backbone of the expanded Nigeria for Women Programme (NFWP), which now targets 25 million women across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The initiative was officially launched at the State House in Abuja, with Vice President Kashim Shettima representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. At the event, the President described the programme as a strategic national investment, stressing that Nigeria’s development ambitions cannot be realised without placing women at the centre of economic and social planning.
A Digital Platform for Financial and Social Empowerment
The Happy Woman App is designed as a secure, one-stop digital ecosystem that brings together services many Nigerian women—especially those in rural and underserved communities—have historically struggled to access. Through the platform, women can connect to micro-financing and grants, acquire digital and financial literacy skills, access market linkages for goods and services, and receive protection and support services, including tools for reporting gender-based violence.
According to the Presidency, the platform is also intended to improve transparency and targeting by reducing the role of intermediaries. By integrating identity verification and data-driven profiling, the government aims to ensure that interventions reach the intended beneficiaries efficiently.
Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, described the app as more than a technology product, calling it a movement to democratise access to opportunity. She announced an ambitious target of registering 10 million verified women within ten months, signalling the administration’s urgency around economic inclusion.
Scaling Up a Proven Model
The nationwide rollout builds on the pilot phase of the Nigeria for Women Project, implemented in six states. Government data shows that the pilot reached over one million women, with participants saving billions of naira through Women Affinity Groups (WAGs)—community-based savings and support structures that promote financial discipline and collective growth.
The expanded programme is backed by a $540 million financing package, co-funded by the Federal Government, state governments, and the World Bank. World Bank representatives have repeatedly highlighted the WAG model as one of the most effective tools for improving household incomes and lifting families out of poverty.
Aligning with Nigeria’s Broader Social Agenda
As part of the launch, President Tinubu designated 2026 as the Year of Social Development and Families in Nigeria, signalling a broader policy focus on family stability, community resilience, and inclusive growth. The declaration aligns with recent international engagements, including a memorandum of understanding signed during the President’s visit to Turkey aimed at strengthening social welfare systems.
By combining digital infrastructure, social capital, and large-scale financing, the Happy Woman App represents a structural shift in how Nigeria approaches women’s empowerment—positioning women not as peripheral beneficiaries, but as central drivers of productivity, family stability, and national economic growth.
