NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 19 - Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Friday called on African leaders to enhance the continent's economic competitiveness by ensuring that women have access to financial services and occupy key leadership positions in the financial sector.

The Premier said that Africa must pursue inclusive financial sector policies, which are accessible and therefore enable the participation of a greater number of women -to ensure that they contribute to the decisions that are shaping the overhaul of the global financial system.

He said that 50 percent of Africa's population comprised of women and emphasised that investing in them was the best way to emancipate the continent from poverty.

"No country can tackle poverty when the majority of its people especially women have limited access to financial services," he noted.

Mr Odinga spoke while officially opening the African Women Economic Summit in Nairobi. The summit with a theme "investing differently in women" brings to the fore the importance of the role of women in the economy, and particularly in the financial sector.

He said that a recent national survey carried out in Kenya in 2009 revealed that an astounding 66 percent of women have no access to formal financial services and 33 percent of them are completely excluded from accessing any financial services.

Source: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/Kenyabusiness/Kenya-PM-roots-for-women-3970.html