FG targets $14.8bn gender financing gap as banks, fintech...

The Federal Government has challenged banks, fintechs and other financial institutions to unlock Nigeria’s $14.8 billion annual gender financing opportunity, arguing that greater access to capital for women could generate significant commercial and economic returns.

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, made the call at the Second National Gender Inclusion Conference (SheIsIncluded) 2026 in Abuja, themed “Designing for Delivery: Financing, Systems and Scale for Women’s Economic Transformation.”

Sulaiman-Ibrahim said Nigeria’s challenge in achieving greater economic participation for women was not a lack of ambition but the design of financial systems that often exclude women who lack conventional collateral.

She cited the International Finance Corporation’s estimate that closing Nigeria’s gender financing gap could unlock about $14.8 billion annually, stressing that the opportunity should be viewed as a commercial proposition rather than solely a social-development intervention.

“The International Finance Corporation estimates that closing Nigeria’s gender financing gap could unlock some $14.8 billion annually. That is not a social return. It is a commercial one, and it remains unclaimed,” she said.

The minister urged banks, guarantors and payment operators to redesign products around the realities of women-owned businesses, including the use of alternative credit data, guarantee-backed lending and low-cost interoperable payment systems.

She said the government was prepared to open its programme pipelines to financial institutions willing to test and scale products targeted at women.

The call comes as the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP) Scale-Up expands its financial inclusion model through Women Affinity Groups, which allow women to save collectively, lend to one another and grow their businesses.

According to the minister, the programme has expanded to 4.5 million women across 300,000 groups nationwide, following the mobilisation of more than 560,000 women into over 26,000 groups during its first phase.

Participants have saved more than N4.9 billion from their own resources and accessed about N15.6 billion in livelihood grants, she said.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim also called on state governments to co-finance and adapt national programmes to local conditions, while urging development partners to improve coordination to ensure resources reach underserved women.

Representing Vice President Kashim Shettima, Special Adviser to the President on General Duties, Dr Aliyu Modibbo Umar, said meaningful commitments to women’s economic empowerment must have a clear owner, measurable target and deadline.

He said delivery would require the involvement of financial institutions, fintechs, investors and development partners because government could create the policy environment, but private capital and technology would be essential to achieving scale.

Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Dr Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, said the economy operates below its potential when productive capital cannot reach productive citizens.

He said credible estimates suggest that national output could be up to 23 per cent higher with greater equality in women’s participation in economic activity.

The capital market also remains a significant gap.

Representing the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, Ojone Kabir said women account for only 12 to 15 per cent of corporate institutions, while their representation in executive positions is below 7 per cent.

She added that women accessing capital to raise funds stood at below 5 per cent, highlighting the scale of the financing challenge.

Kabir said the SEC was reviewing entry requirements into the capital market to make participation more favourable to women and small and medium-sized enterprises.

She also encouraged women entrepreneurs to explore regulated crowdfunding platforms as an alternative route to raising capital.

The NFWP was originally approved in 2018 through a $100 million International Development Association (IDA) credit to improve women’s livelihoods and support sustainable economic activities across participating states.

The latest push for greater financial inclusion therefore places commercial lenders and fintechs at the centre of efforts to convert Nigeria’s large gender financing gap into increased enterprise, investment and economic output.

For the economy, the key issue is whether financial institutions can move beyond conventional collateral-based lending and develop scalable models that allow more women-owned businesses to access capital, formal payments and investment opportunities.