{"id":306,"date":"2023-10-19T07:19:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T07:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/?p=306"},"modified":"2026-03-06T07:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T07:40:09","slug":"nigerias-women-entrepreneurs-hold-the-key-to-economic-growth-are-banks-ready-to-invest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/nigerias-women-entrepreneurs-hold-the-key-to-economic-growth-are-banks-ready-to-invest\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria\u2019s Women Entrepreneurs Hold the Key to Economic Growth\u2014Are Banks Ready to Invest?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In\u00a0Nigeria, women own 40% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)<\/strong>, yet they receive only a\u00a0fraction of total bank credit<\/strong>. This imbalance isn\u2019t just unfair\u2014it\u2019s\u00a0holding back the country\u2019s economy<\/strong>. But things are starting to shift.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0AFAWA Finance Series<\/strong>\u00a0was hosted in\u00a0Lagos<\/strong>, bringing together\u00a0government leaders, financial institutions, and development partners<\/strong>\u00a0to explore how\u00a0gender-inclusive finance<\/strong>\u00a0can unlock\u00a0billions in economic potential<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nigeria\u2019s Banking Sector: The Next Frontier for Gender-Smart Financing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At the heart of the discussions was\u00a0AFAWA\u2019s Guarantee for Growth (G4G) program<\/strong>, a risk-sharing facility designed to\u00a0help banks de-risk lending to women entrepreneurs<\/strong>. With\u00a0micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) making up over 75% of Nigeria\u2019s workforce<\/strong>, the potential for impact is massive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a real opportunity for scale,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0said\u00a0Dr. Beth Dunford, AfDB Vice President for Agriculture, Human, and Social Development<\/strong>. With the right financial products and policies,\u00a0women-led businesses can accelerate Nigeria\u2019s economic transformation<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Beyond Talk: A Call for Action<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Nigeria is already taking steps in the right direction, with policymakers\u00a0exploring regulatory reforms<\/strong>\u00a0to improve financial access for women.\u00a0Jules Ngankam, Group CEO of AGF<\/strong>, stressed the urgency:<\/p>\n

\u201cSeventy percent of African women are financially excluded. This isn\u2019t just about access to credit\u2014it\u2019s about economic power, leadership, and wealth creation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The event also provided training for financial institutions, helping them rethink their\u00a0products and services through a gender-smart lens<\/strong>. The goal? Not just to lend to women entrepreneurs but to\u00a0reshape the financial sector to serve them better<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

A Future Where Women Entrepreneurs Lead<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Through\u00a0AFAWA, AfDB, and AGF<\/strong>, Nigeria\u2019s\u00a0financial ecosystem is shifting<\/strong>\u2014but the work isn\u2019t done yet. Women entrepreneurs aren\u2019t asking for handouts; they\u2019re\u00a0building businesses, creating jobs, and driving innovation<\/strong>. The question is:\u00a0Will banks rise to the occasion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigeria\u2019s women-led businesses make up 40% of SMEs, yet they remain financially underserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,18,43],"class_list":["post-306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-women-and-youth","tag-afawa","tag-events","tag-women","post_format-post-format-video"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions\/315"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}