LAPO Microfinance Bank, in partnership with the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI), has launched a pilot initiative to expand access to climate-smart financing for women smallholder farmers and women-led enterprises in rural Nigeria.
The programme, supported by grants from the Visa Foundation and the la Caixa Foundation, seeks to promote sustainable agricultural practices, strengthen rural livelihoods and enhance resilience to climate-related risks. It is expected to reach 20,000 smallholder farmers—at least 6,600 of them women—as well as 5,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, including more than 2,200 women-led businesses.
Under the pilot scheme, beneficiaries will gain access to tailored, climate-adaptive financial products, while participating financial institutions will receive technical support to strengthen their environmental and social impact frameworks. Key tools to be deployed include the United Nations Environment Programme’s Microfinance for Ecosystem-based Adaptation toolkit and the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Adaptation, Biodiversity and Carbon Mapping tool. The initiative will also strengthen impact measurement systems and position LAPO Microfinance Bank as a national reference institution under the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code.
The project aligns with Nigeria’s climate action and financial inclusion priorities as outlined in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 3.0 and the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 3.0. It also complements LAPO Microfinance Bank’s rural resilience strategy and WSBI’s global work on gender-inclusive finance through the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, hosted by the World Bank and supported by the FAO.
Implementation of the pilot will be led by the WSBI Development Finance Unit, established in 2023, leveraging its experience at the intersection of finance, gender inclusion and climate action.
Chairman of the la Caixa Foundation, Isidro Fainé, said the partnership highlights the expanding role of savings and retail banking in tackling social and environmental challenges. “We are delighted to see the social involvement of savings and retail banking grow worldwide, especially through projects that contribute to poverty reduction, youth empowerment, female entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability,” he said.
WSBI’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter Simon, described the initiative as a demonstration of the strong link between inclusive finance and climate resilience. “By empowering women farmers and entrepreneurs with the tools and financing they need, we are building stronger rural economies and more sustainable communities,” he said.
President of the Visa Foundation, Najada Kumbuli, noted that financial inclusion remains central to broad participation in the digital economy, stressing that support for small business owners is critical to sustainable local growth.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAPO Microfinance Bank, Cynthia Ikponmwosa, said the pilot represents the bank’s first dedicated effort to provide climate-smart financial solutions targeted specifically at women farmers and entrepreneurs. According to her, the partnership will further deepen LAPO’s impact across rural communities nationwide.
LAPO Microfinance Bank added that the initiative builds on its more than three decades of promoting social and economic empowerment for low-income households, with a strong focus on women-owned enterprises.
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