FCMB, Alitheia Capital target finance gap for 300 women-led

About 300 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are set to gain access to finance, investment opportunities and new markets as First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and Alitheia Capital join forces to address funding and capacity constraints limiting the growth of women-owned businesses in Nigeria.

The two-day 2026 W.O.M.A.N. Conference, held in Lagos from September 10 to 11, will bring together women-led enterprises in manufacturing, agribusiness, nutrition and related sectors alongside financial institutions, investors, policymakers, development organisations and business leaders.

FCMB is supporting the conference as its exclusive banking partner through SheVentures, its proposition for women-owned businesses.

The programme will focus on practical issues affecting business expansion, including access to finance and investment, governance, financial management, market access, climate resilience, green manufacturing and energy transition.

Group Head, Gender and Impact Sectors at FCMB, Nnenna Jacob-Ogogo, said the partnership was aimed at helping women entrepreneurs move from viable businesses to enterprises capable of scaling.

“Women are building businesses that create jobs, strengthen communities and contribute to Nigeria’s productive economy. Through this partnership, we want to help more women develop the structures, knowledge and connections they need to move from running viable enterprises to building businesses that can scale,” she said.

Head of SME Asset Products at FCMB, Oluremi Agboola, said access to finance was closely linked to business readiness.

“Access to finance begins with readiness. Businesses with reliable records, sound financial management, and clear growth plans are better positioned to secure funding,” she said.

According to her, the conference would help entrepreneurs understand the requirements of financial institutions and identify financing options appropriate to different stages of business growth.

The W.O.M.A.N. programme will extend beyond the Lagos conference through cohort sessions across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, alongside investment-readiness and access-to-finance pathways and digital capacity building through Alitheia Capital’s Nzinga learning platform.

The initiative is designed to build a pipeline of women-led enterprises that can attract debt, equity and blended-finance solutions, potentially increasing their capacity to expand production, create jobs and access new markets.

Managing Partner of Alitheia Capital, Tokunboh Ishmael, said the programme was designed to tackle structural barriers preventing women entrepreneurs from converting business potential into sustainable growth.

“The gathering brings an ecosystem closer together to deliver systemic strategies that overcome challenges women face in labour markets and economic empowerment,” she said.

Ishmael said many participating businesses already had revenues, customers and growth ambitions but remained constrained by access to capital and other resources.

“The constraint is not ambition — it is access. W.O.M.A.N. 2026 is built to close that gap directly,” she said.

The programme is being delivered in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BOI), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), alongside other private-sector and development partners.

The focus on investment readiness is significant because growing businesses require different forms of capital at different stages. While some need working capital and equipment finance, others require equity, larger credit facilities or blended financing to scale operations.

For Nigeria, strengthening the capacity of women-led enterprises to secure appropriate financing could have wider implications for manufacturing, agribusiness, employment and domestic value creation.

The success of the initiative will ultimately be measured not by participation alone but by how many businesses move from training and networking to actual financing, expanded production, new markets and sustainable job creation.