Women led businesses are becoming an increasingly important force in Nigeria’s economic development, creating jobs, supporting households and driving commercial activity across different sectors.
From agriculture and manufacturing to fashion, food processing, education, healthcare, technology and professional services, Nigerian women are building enterprises that contribute to their communities and the wider economy.
Their entrepreneurial ambition is also reflected in recent research. Mastercard’s 2025 research found that 83 per cent of Nigerian women considered themselves entrepreneurs, while 90 per cent expressed interest in starting their own businesses.
The research further indicated that 93 per cent of Nigerian business owners expected their revenues to grow over the following five years, underscoring the optimism surrounding entrepreneurship in the country.
However, ambition does not automatically translate into business expansion. Entrepreneurs require capital to purchase inventory, acquire equipment, employ workers, increase production and take advantage of emerging markets.
For many women entrepreneurs, the gap between identifying a business opportunity and obtaining the capital required to pursue it remains significant.
Closing the Gender Funding Gap
Nigeria has one of Africa’s most vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems, with women accounting for a substantial share of micro, small and medium enterprises.
A national report released in 2026 estimated that women own almost 40 per cent of businesses in Nigeria, even though their access to formal credit remains disproportionately low.
The International Finance Corporation has estimated that closing gender participation gaps across key sectors could add as much as $22.9 billion to Nigeria’s economy.
The institution has also identified access to productive assets, including finance, technology and markets, as essential to increasing the participation of women as entrepreneurs and business leaders.
The funding gap has practical consequences for businesses. A caterer may secure a major contract but lack the resources to acquire additional equipment and supplies. A manufacturer may identify rising demand but be unable to increase production.
Similarly, a retailer may need additional stock ahead of a peak trading period but lack sufficient working capital to bridge the gap.
In such circumstances, the challenge is not necessarily a lack of business ideas or entrepreneurial capacity. Rather, it is the inability to access financing that matches the opportunity.
Rethinking Conventional Lending
The financing conversation should therefore go beyond simply increasing the amount of credit available to women.
It should also examine how financial institutions assess women owned businesses, structure repayment arrangements and combine financing with the knowledge and support entrepreneurs need to succeed.
Many women entrepreneurs operate with limited collateral, incomplete financial records or relatively short formal credit histories. Conventional lending requirements can consequently make it difficult for otherwise viable businesses to obtain funding.
This can create a difficult cycle in which businesses remain small because they cannot access finance, while their small size makes them appear less suitable for conventional lending.
Recent lending data also challenges some assumptions about the risk associated with women borrowers. A 2025 impact report cited in 2026 found that women owned businesses recorded a loan default rate 2.5 times lower than male borrowers within the portfolio examined.
Yet women accounted for only 36 per cent of loans issued, while 62 per cent of surveyed female borrowers said the facility they received represented their first formal business loan.
The figures suggest that expanding responsible financing for women could simultaneously promote financial inclusion and create a commercially valuable market for lenders.
Fidelity Bank’s HerFidelity Approach
It is against this background that Fidelity Bank developed HerFidelity, its proposition designed to support Nigerian women.
Launched in 2022, HerFidelity focuses on women owned businesses, job creation and economic development through four interconnected areas: financial support, business management and capacity building, health and wellness, and entrepreneurship support.
The approach recognises that sustainable business growth requires more than capital. Entrepreneurs also need financial knowledge, business management skills, networks, mentorship and access to opportunities.
Fidelity Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Nneka Onyeali Ikpe, has explained that her engagements with women across different industries revealed significant gaps in access to capital, skills development, health support and business networks.
According to her, HerFidelity was designed to address these gaps by combining access to capital with capacity building, wellness and entrepreneurship support.
FundHer Targets Business Growth
FundHer forms the financial support component of the wider HerFidelity proposition, targeting women led small and medium sized enterprises requiring funds for working capital, asset acquisition and business expansion.
Eligible businesses can access up to ₦50 million for working capital needs, including stock, raw materials and business operations.
Asset financing of up to ₦100 million is available for eligible equipment, vehicles, office furniture and other business assets, while expansion financing of up to ₦100 million can support office space, renovations and other growth requirements.
Repayment periods range from 12 to 24 months, subject to eligibility, applicable terms and credit approval.
The structure allows businesses at different stages of development to seek financing based on specific operational needs. A fashion entrepreneur, for instance, could require additional materials and machinery, while an agribusiness may need processing equipment.
A healthcare entrepreneur could require financing to expand a facility, while a technology company may need additional resources to recruit staff and serve a growing customer base.
The alignment of financing with specific business purposes makes FundHer a practical response to the capital requirements of growing women led enterprises.
Financing That Creates Wider Impact
Fidelity Bank’s support for women entrepreneurs also extends beyond the provision of credit.
In 2023, the bank extended loans valued at ₦4.3 billion to 22,684 female individuals and ₦26.3 billion to 522 women owned businesses.
In 2024, it expanded its women’s economic empowerment initiatives through financial inclusion, capacity building and wellness programmes, including digital skills training delivered in partnership with ImpactHER.
The programme equipped more than 6,000 women entrepreneurs and female led SMEs with business management and digital capabilities.
Such interventions are important because financing a woman owned enterprise can generate benefits beyond the immediate borrower.
Additional capital can enable a business to accept larger orders, increase production, acquire technology, formalise operations and employ more workers.
It can also strengthen household incomes and stimulate economic activity within communities where many women owned enterprises operate.
The broader lesson is that closing the gender financing gap should not be viewed simply as a social intervention. It is also an economic strategy capable of unlocking productive capacity, expanding businesses and creating employment.
For Nigerian women seeking to move from survival and resilience to sustainable growth, the combination of financing, skills, mentorship, wellness and entrepreneurship support provides a stronger foundation for scaling their enterprises.
HerFidelity and FundHer ultimately point to a straightforward proposition: when viable women led businesses gain access to the right capital and support, the benefits can extend from individual entrepreneurs to families, communities and the Nigerian economy.