NIGERIA : AfDB Mobilizes $61 Million for Women Entrepreneurship

In Lagos, Abuja and Kano, thousands of women-led small businesses continue to face the same challenge : gaining access to affordable financing within a banking system often considered unfavorable to SMEs. In response to this persistent reality, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has taken a new step in its strategy to support Nigeria’s private sector by approving a $61 million financial package, equivalent to approximately CFAF 34 billion.

Validated on April 29, 2026 by the Board of Directors of the pan-African institution, the financing will be deployed through the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), a long-standing strategic partner of the AfDB. The stated objective is to reduce the structural barriers that continue to limit women entrepreneurs’ access to bank credit and to expand financing opportunities for SMEs operating in sectors considered strategic for the Nigerian economy.

The program is built around a financial structure combining several complementary instruments. A $50 million credit line will be dedicated to financing women-owned businesses, while an $8 million concessional facility will be mobilized under the Agri-SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism (ACFM). In addition, a $3 million grant will be provided through the AFAWA initiative (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa), supported by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), a platform hosted by the World Bank Group.

For AfDB officials, the initiative seeks to address persistent inequalities in access to finance. According to studies conducted by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), women-owned businesses in sub-Saharan Africa face a financing gap estimated at several tens of billions of dollars. In Nigeria, where SMEs account for more than 90% of the economic fabric and contribute significantly to employment, limited access to credit remains one of the major constraints on private sector growth.

The mechanism also includes performance-based incentives designed to encourage partner financial institutions to increase the share of loans granted to women entrepreneurs. For the AfDB, the ambition is no longer simply to support small-scale economic activities, but to transform women-owned businesses into genuine engines of growth, job creation and social resilience.

Particular attention will be paid to sectors considered strategic for Nigeria’s development. Agriculture, renewable energy, healthcare and high value-added services have all been identified as priorities in a country facing strong demographic pressure and significant economic diversification needs. In the agricultural sector especially, financial authorities are relying on women-led SMEs to strengthen food security, improve rural incomes and stimulate local value chains.

Beyond direct financing, the program will also provide partial credit guarantees, long-term loans and capacity-building mechanisms aimed at reducing risks for financial institutions while facilitating women entrepreneurs’ integration into the formal banking system.

The initiative is part of the AfDB’s 2024–2033 ten-year strategy, which places financial inclusion, private sector development and gender equality among its major priorities. It is also aligned with Nigeria’s 2025–2030 country strategy paper, focused on the economic empowerment of women and youth as well as the promotion of greener and more inclusive growth.

Against a backdrop of global economic slowdown and persistent tensions in financial markets, the AfDB hopes to turn Nigeria into a regional laboratory for inclusive finance capable of sustainably supporting the expansion of African SMEs.

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