By Emmanuella Opara | October 16th, 2026
KEY POINTS
- The African Development Bank Group has committed $750,000 to support women entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
- The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Pan African Women Empowerment Network and ImpactHER Foundation will each receive $250,000.
- The three-year initiative will provide business development services, financial literacy training, mentorship and improved access to markets and financing.
- The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund will use its allocation to support 610 women-led businesses.
- The investment builds on AfDB’s wider efforts to expand financing opportunities for women-owned enterprises across Africa.
MAIN STORY
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has committed $750,000 to support women entrepreneurs in Nigeria through three institutions under the second cohort of its Women Entrepreneurship Enablers Project.
The funding, provided through the bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, will be shared equally among the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Pan African Women Empowerment Network (PAWEN) and ImpactHER Foundation, with each institution receiving $250,000.
According to a statement released by the bank on Friday, the three-year initiative will support women-owned businesses through business development services, financial literacy training, mentorship, business formalisation and improved access to markets and financing.
LSETF will deploy its allocation to support 610 women-led businesses in Lagos, with the aim of helping them expand operations, create jobs and contribute to economic development.
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Sam Egube, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to entrepreneurship and inclusive economic growth.
Egube said LSETF had provided business support and affordable financing to more than three million small businesses in Lagos over the past decade.
He added that women accounted for nearly 60 per cent of businesses in the fund’s portfolio, noting that the AfDB grant would help beneficiaries increase revenue, expand their operations and create employment opportunities.
The bank’s Acting Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery and Director-General for Nigeria, Dr Abdul Kamara, said women entrepreneurs played an important role in economic transformation.
“Women-owned and women-led businesses are essential to Nigeria’s economic growth and job creation,” Kamara said.
He explained that the partnerships would help women entrepreneurs acquire the skills, business networks and financing opportunities needed to build sustainable enterprises and contribute to national development.
The first cohort of the Women Entrepreneurship Enablers Project was inaugurated in 2022, with a target of supporting 16,000 women-led businesses across 26 African countries.
In Nigeria, the latest intervention aligns with AfDB’s Country Strategy Paper 2025–2030, which prioritises inclusive economic growth and expanded opportunities for women and young people.
The project also complements the bank’s broader financing support for women entrepreneurs, including a $61 million financing package to the Development Bank of Nigeria aimed at expanding access to affordable finance for women-owned businesses.
THE ISSUES
Access to finance remains a key consideration for women seeking to establish or expand businesses. The AfDB commitment combines funding for partner institutions with training, mentorship and business development support intended to help women-led enterprises strengthen their operations.
The allocation to LSETF is expected to reach 610 women-led businesses in Lagos. The fund’s existing portfolio, in which women account for nearly 60 per cent of businesses, provides a basis for directing support towards female entrepreneurs.
Beyond financing, the programme includes business formalisation and access to markets, which can help enterprises improve their operations and pursue expansion opportunities.
The initiative also forms part of AfDB’s wider strategy to increase women’s participation in economic activity and strengthen the contribution of women-owned businesses to employment and growth.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“Women-owned and women-led businesses are essential to Nigeria’s economic growth and job creation,” Dr Abdul Kamara, AfDB’s Acting Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery and Director-General for Nigeria, said.
WHAT’S NEXT
The three partner institutions are expected to implement the three-year initiative using their respective $250,000 allocations to support women-led businesses.
LSETF’s component will focus on 610 businesses in Lagos, while the wider project will provide business development services, financial literacy training, mentorship and improved access to markets and financing.
The programme’s impact will depend on how effectively the participating institutions deliver the support and how beneficiaries use the resources and services to develop their businesses.
BOTTOM LINE
AfDB has committed $750,000 to three Nigerian institutions to support women entrepreneurs through financing, training and business development services. The initiative aims to help women-led enterprises expand, create jobs and contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth.
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