Advancing economic opportunity for women through agent banking
Across Northern Nigeria, agent banking is becoming one of the most practical ways to expand access to financial services. But access alone is not enough. When women are positioned as agents, they become trusted bridges between communities and the formal financial system, creating new pathways for income, confidence, and participation.
Women’s World Banking’s latest research explores how strengthening female agent networks can help expand women’s use of digital financial services and support advancing economic opportunity for women across Northern Nigeria.
This report combines insights from interviews with 57 stakeholders and a survey of 1,000 women, offering one of the clearest pictures to date of how agent banking is shaping women’s financial lives—and what it will take to scale its impact.
Why this matters
Agent banking has become the primary gateway through which many women in Northern Nigeria access financial services. Nearly 99.7% of respondents said agent banking reduces the need to travel long distances to a bank branch, showing how deeply embedded agent networks are in daily financial life.
Female agents play a particularly important role because they:
- Build trust within communities
- Reduce social barriers to financial participation
- Support women navigating digital tools for the first time
- Create safe spaces for financial engagement
- Generate new income opportunities for women themselves
Strengthening female agent networks helps move women from occasional users of financial services to active participants in local economies.
Key insights from the research
Agent banking is women’s main entry point to finance
Across study locations, agent networks are the most common way women interact with the formal financial system. In the three months before the survey:
- 98.5% of women withdrew cash through an agent
- 73.2% described themselves as active digital financial services users
However, usage remains largely transactional, with limited savings and credit adoption—highlighting opportunities to deepen impact.
Female agents strengthen trust and adoption
Women often prefer female agents because they:
- communicate more clearly
- understand local realities
- provide privacy in conservative contexts
- create more comfortable service environments
These trust relationships are critical for expanding sustained use of digital financial services.
Liquidity constraints limit agent productivity
Many female agents operate with limited working capital:
- Some reported operating with less than 50,000 naira (~$40) in float
This restricts transaction capacity and income potential, limiting the scale of agent networks and their impact.
Fraud concerns shape confidence in digital finance
More than 60% of respondents identified fraud as their primary concern when using digital financial services.
Stronger consumer protection systems and clearer dispute-resolution mechanisms are essential to building trust and encouraging deeper engagement.
Digital literacy remains a major barrier
Many women reported:
- limited exposure to business training
- low confidence navigating USSD interfaces
- reliance on agents or family members for transactions
Community-based training delivered in local languages can help expand adoption and usage.
Infrastructure challenges affect service reliability
Network instability and unreliable electricity continue to affect agent productivity and customer confidence, especially in rural and peri-urban areas.
Improving connectivity is essential to strengthening digital financial ecosystems.
Why this matters for advancing economic opportunity for women
Female agent banking does more than extend financial services. It creates livelihoods, strengthens trust in financial systems, and supports women’s ability to manage income, savings, and risk more independently.
When women serve as agents:
- financial services move closer to communities
- participation increases
- confidence grows
- local economies benefit
Expanding female agent networks is one of the most effective ways to support advancing economic opportunity for women in Northern Nigeria.
What will help female agent banking scale
The report identifies several priorities for strengthening women’s participation in agent banking:
- Ensuring agents maintain sufficient liquidity improves service reliability and income stability.
- Training helps both agents and customers build confidence using digital tools.
- More women agents reduce social barriers and improve adoption.
- Clear safeguards build trust in digital finance.
- Connectivity and electricity are essential for sustainable agent networks.
Together, these actions can help move agent banking from access to meaningful financial participation.
Explore the report
Download the full report to learn how strengthening female agent banking can expand women’s financial inclusion and support advancing economic opportunity for women across Northern Nigeria.
