This article talk about how to design better financial services for women by learning from their own trusted savings associations wey dey common for Nigeria and other African countries.

EFInA recent gathering for International Women’s Month bring together different stakeholders to discuss how women savings groups like Esusu, Adashe, and Ajo dey help women for rural areas and underserved communities where formal banks no dey reach well.

These informal groups build on trust, social capital, and Ubuntu philosophy of collective support, making am possible for women to save, borrow, and support each other especially during tough times like conflict or climate challenges.

The piece compare with South Africa stokvels wey Nedbank don integrate into their system with digital features, and Kenya chamas wey Postbank use 'bank-in-a-bag' approach to open over 88,000 women accounts.According to A2F 2023 survey, women rely more on informal providers because of lack of trust in formal ones, strict KYC, and no collateral.

The article suggest say banks should partner with these women associations as intermediaries, use group validation instead of only collateral, and create products wey align with their existing dynamics.This way, financial inclusion go improve as women go accept services wey come through trusted groups.Instead of forcing women enter formal system, make the system adapt to their cultural realities for sustainable progress.Na important lesson for regulators, banks, and development organisations for Nigeria to embed these principles into formal finance.