Winifred, the lady who trained over 2,000 women on financial literacy in less than a year

Winifred Onofelaga, a young woman living in the capital city of Abuja with little to no financial knowledge until a notification from the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform project changed her life. The 50 Million African Women Speak Project is a digital platform accessible via web and app, created by the African Development Bank and domiciliary in the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, aiming to empower women entrepreneurs across the country. Showing excitement, she said, “In 2022, I got a notification about the financial literacy project and my life has changed for the better since then.” 

Prior to the training organised by 50 Million African Women Speak Platform Project, a partner of GIZ on the Financial Literacy Intervention under the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Winifred didn’t have a good knowledge of finance management. She had a non-existent savings culture, made impulsive decisions with money and did not evaluate her past financial decisions.  

Once she got the notification, she got so captivated by the idea of gaining financial knowledge that she immediately kickstarted her financial literacy journey on SMEsabi (a free e-Learning platform developed to bring entrepreneurship and financial knowledge directly to MSMEs) 

After taking the training, she experienced a 180-degree change in her life. She gradually learned how to plan her finances and her savings significantly increased. This motivated her to inform everyone she knew – including her siblings – to take the online training. 

A while after completing the first training course, she got another notification on how she could become a trainer and impact the lives of other women by taking the “Train the Trainer” course. She completed the training and has since then trained over 2,000 women who have gone on to implement the knowledge in their families and businesses.  

Speaking on the impact of the training, she said, “Many of these women live paycheck to paycheck. But after the training, I got hundreds of testimonies about women on how their spending habits have significantly improved since they started planning and managing their finances better.” 

Being a trainer has increased her confidence. The training also exposed her to a stream of opportunities – both paid and unpaid – where she is invited to speak on financial literacy in events, schools and community gatherings.    

She sees online training as a convenient way to speed-track your financial growth. When she’s not able to train in person, she encourages people to take the self-paced financial literacy course on SMESabi.  

In less than one year, the Angware market has shown they want development for their economy sooner than later, they have plans laid in the short and long term. They have plans for revenue generation, for a safer, cleaner market and many plans for expansion. With little or no support, the Angware market will be a major market in the state in the nearest future.