AfDB Commits $750,000 to Support Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has committed $750,000 in grants to support women-owned and women-led businesses across Nigeria under a three-year programme aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship, expanding access to finance and creating jobs.

The funding will be shared equally among three Nigerian institutions, with each receiving $250,000 to provide tailored business support to female entrepreneurs.

The beneficiaries are the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), the Pan African Women Empowerment Network (PAWEN) and ImpactHER Foundation.

The bank announced the commitment on Friday following the launch of its partnership with LSETF under the second cohort of the Women Entrepreneurship Enablers Project.

LSETF will use its $250,000 grant to support 610 women-led businesses, while PAWEN and ImpactHER will receive equivalent amounts to implement programmes for female entrepreneurs.

The initiative is financed through the AfDB’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa programme, which seeks to address barriers limiting women’s participation in economic activities.

The bank’s Acting Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery and Director-General for Nigeria, Dr Abdul Kamara, said the investment would help women entrepreneurs acquire the skills, networks and financing opportunities needed to expand their businesses.

He said women-led enterprises were important to Nigeria’s economic growth and employment generation, adding that supporting their development could contribute to stronger and more resilient economies.

The programme will provide financial literacy training, assistance with business formalisation, mentorship, business development services and improved access to markets and financing opportunities.

These interventions are designed to strengthen the capacity of women-owned businesses, improve their sustainability and enable them to expand their operations and create jobs.

At the launch in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Sam Egube, welcomed the partnership, describing it as a boost to existing efforts to support small businesses in the state.

He said the LSETF had provided business support and access to affordable financing to more than three million small businesses over the past decade.

Sanwo-Olu noted that women accounted for nearly 60 per cent of businesses supported by the agency, expressing optimism that the AfDB grant would help beneficiaries improve revenue, expand operations and generate employment.

He assured participating entrepreneurs of continued support from the Lagos State Government and its development partners.

The AfDB said the intervention aligned with its broader commitment to inclusive economic growth and its Nigeria Country Strategy Paper for 2025–2030, which prioritises economic opportunities for women and young people.

The bank recalled that the first cohort of the Women Entrepreneurship Enablers Project was launched in 2022, with a target of supporting 16,000 women-led businesses across 26 African countries.

The latest commitment also complements a $61 million financing package recently provided to the Development Bank of Nigeria to expand access to affordable financing for women-owned and women-led businesses nationwide.

The AfDB said the partnerships would help address persistent constraints facing female entrepreneurs and improve their ability to build sustainable enterprises that contribute to economic development.