Key points
- New report highlights major financing disparity affecting women-owned businesses in Nigeria.
- Women own nearly 40 per cent of businesses but receive limited access to formal credit.
- Impact Investors Foundation says only $1.25bn of targeted $8bn inclusive capital has been mobilised.
Main story
A new national report has exposed a widening financing gap confronting female-owned businesses in Nigeria, revealing that women entrepreneurs continue to face major barriers in accessing institutional funding and formal financial opportunities.
The findings were presented in the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Baseline Report launched by the Impact Investors Foundation during a summit in Lagos.
According to the report, women own nearly 40 per cent of businesses in Nigeria, yet they receive only a small fraction of formal financing compared to their male counterparts.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of the Impact Investors Foundation, Etemore Glover, described the report as a strategic tool aimed at addressing structural inequalities within Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
“This report is more than a document; it is the data-driven foundation required to fix structural barriers in our financial system,” Glover said.
The report revealed that only 23 per cent of Nigerian women currently own formal bank accounts, compared to 77 per cent of men, highlighting deep disparities in financial inclusion.
It further disclosed that impact investors had set a target of mobilising $8 billion in inclusive capital by 2035, but only $1.25 billion had been secured as of May 2026, leaving a funding shortfall of approximately $6.75 billion.
Beyond access to finance, the report also identified broader inclusion gaps across institutions and organisations. It found that women occupy only 22 per cent of leadership positions in surveyed organisations, while representation of persons living with disabilities stands at just five per cent.
Stakeholders at the summit stressed that gender inclusion should no longer be viewed solely as a social issue, but as a strategic economic imperative capable of driving national growth and development.
Chair of GSG Nigeria Partner, Ibukun Awosika, said conversations around women’s economic participation must move beyond charity and become central to Nigeria’s economic planning and development agenda.
In his keynote address titled “Turning Gender Equity into Economic Advantage,” Muhammadu Sanusi II criticised what he described as weak political and institutional commitment toward sustainable gender-focused reforms.
According to him, gender inclusion issues are often reduced to symbolic empowerment programmes during election periods instead of being embedded into long-term national policies.
Sanusi also challenged women in leadership positions within the banking sector to champion inclusive policies and actively support the advancement of other women into leadership roles.
As part of measures to bridge the financing gap, the Impact Investors Foundation unveiled new physical and virtual deal rooms designed to connect institutional investors with women-led businesses seeking growth opportunities.
The foundation disclosed that the initiative has already secured preliminary investment commitments estimated at $250,000.
The issues
The report highlights persistent structural inequalities limiting women’s participation in Nigeria’s financial and economic systems. Limited access to credit, low financial inclusion, underrepresentation in leadership, and weak institutional support continue to constrain the growth potential of female entrepreneurs and women-led enterprises.
What’s being said
Stakeholders at the summit argued that empowering women economically is critical to achieving sustainable national development. They called for stronger policy reforms, improved access to finance, and deliberate institutional efforts to promote inclusion across sectors.
What’s next
The Impact Investors Foundation is expected to deepen investor engagement through its newly introduced deal rooms while stakeholders continue advocacy for policies that improve access to capital and leadership opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
Bottom line
The report underscores the scale of financial exclusion confronting women-owned businesses in Nigeria, warning that without deliberate reforms and investment, the country risks limiting the economic potential of a significant segment of its entrepreneurial population.
