The paper explains the role of women in the informal sector in Nigeria, the constraints of women in the
sector, and how the sector can be upgraded and progressively integrated into the development
mainstream. Employment opportunities in the formal sector are often denied women because of family
responsibilities, lack of skills, social and cultural barriers; the informal sector is often the only
possibility for women to get access to employment and to earn an income. Consequently women
dominate the informal sector.Policies and developments affecting the informal economy thus have a
distinctly gendered effect. The informal sector has a high labour-absorption capacity and there is the
need to increase the level of stimulation of employment opportunities.
This paper is based on a desk and literature review, a web-based research and a field survey using 150
women in the Mushin, Agege and Lagos Island Areas of Lagos Nigeria.
The paper concludes that although the informal sector has its challenges especially for women, such as
inaccessibility of credit, the women’s role in the informal finance sector is significant. Partnerships must
be built with the emerging associations of women to create an enabling environment which should
include making credit available to women at affordable rates, with the private sector assisting
government efforts to get credit to women. A more enlightened, more participatory, and more equitable
form of intervention that provides a more appropriate and flexible regulatory framework is needed.