Nigerian women have big dreams and are working hard to improve their lives and communities, but they need more than just good wishes to succeed. An extensive survey of 100,000 women aged 15-55 in Nigeria conducted by the Gates Foundation shows that these women are ambitious and driven, but they face many roadblocks that keep them from reaching their full potential.
This report isn’t just a collection of facts; it’s a call for action. It highlights the hopes of women across Nigeria, who are mostly running small, everyday businesses like selling food, growing crops, teaching skills, or making soap. These are real, achievable goals, and they’re a big part of Nigeria’s unofficial economy.
To understand these women’s goals, you have to understand where they work. Nigeria has about 40 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and almost 90% of businesses are in the “informal economy,” which means they’re not officially registered or regulated, and they make less than 500,000 NGN monthly profit. This is where Nigerian women are working hard, trading, and making things, often without much support.
Banks and development finance institutions such as Zenith, Access, First Bank, UBA, Fidelity, BOI, and SMEDAN are urged to take concrete steps to bolster women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This includes establishing a specialized Women’s Business Fund offering easily accessible loans with low interest rates. Furthermore, these institutions should streamline their collateral requirements for women entrepreneurs and make a public commitment to allocate a minimum of 40% of their SME lending portfolio to businesses owned or led by women.
Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is urged to actively enforce gender-based lending targets, mandating that commercial banks allocate at least 30% of their lending to women-owned or led businesses. Furthermore, the CBN should ensure that a significant portion, specifically 50%, of its intervention funds are reserved for women entrepreneurs while streamlining and simplifying collateral requirements for women-led SMEs to improve their access to these crucial financial resources.
Women make up a large portion of this informal workforce, about 37.1 per cent, and they’re keeping their families going and helping the local economy. A lot of these workers are young, under 34, showing a strong, determined group of people trying to make things work.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sought to hear directly from women about their objectives, problems, and necessary support for economic empowerment. The participants were asked questions related to women’s economic power around these three questions:
- What is your biggest economic ambition?
- What will stop you from reaching it?
- What support will help you reach it?
What is your biggest economic ambition?
About 34 per cent of the women stated that their biggest economic ambition was to own or expand a business. The top three industries of interest for 15 per cent of these women were agriculture, fashion and food.
What will stop you from reaching it?
About 62 per cent of these women said that lack of start-up capital or equipment was the main factor preventing them from achieving their economic ambitions. Another obstacle was the lack of time, jobs and low profits. Women in agriculture stated that their biggest obstacle was access to land due to cultural practices.
What support will help you reach it?
About 41 per cent of these women stated that, most importantly, they need money or equipment to start their businesses, along with support from their families. They also highlighted the importance of job opportunities, making profits, and managing their time effectively. Education and training were seen as helpful, and they pointed out that addressing problems like discrimination, insecurity, and lack of power would significantly improve their situations. Financial institutions should take note that providing these women with the needed capital is not a risky endeavor. Evidence suggests that women are often more diligent in repaying loans compared to their male counterparts, making them a trustworthy and reliable segment for investment.
What these women want is pretty simple, but it would make a huge difference. One woman needs money to buy rice to sell. Another wants to grow her business to send her kids to school. Another wants to teach more girls how to make soap, and a farmer wants land to grow more crops.
These women aren’t asking for free stuff; they want opportunities like money, tools, education, and land. One woman said her biggest dream is to get money for her soap business and teach other girls. That’s about helping the whole community, not just herself.
Even though these women have a lot of potential, they don’t get enough support. In 2023, less than 1 per cent of the government’s money went to programs that help women’s businesses. This shows a big gap between what the government says and what it does.
Getting money is a big problem. Even though some programs are trying to help, they often miss the women who need it most, especially those in rural areas. They need things like low-interest loans, financial education, and help with using technology.
Also, many government policies don’t take into account the real lives of these women. Fifehan Osikanlu, Founder, Eden Ventures, stated and I quote;
“While access to financial and digital resources is essential, it is not enough—true empowerment requires financial literacy, digital skills, and policies that meet women where they are. We must move beyond inclusion to ownership, investment, and leadership, ensuring women not only participate in economies but also drive and shape them. This is about power, autonomy, and legacy—transforming families, communities, mindsets, and economies”
This simply means that just giving them money and digital tools isn’t enough. They need to learn how to use them, and policies need to be made with their real lives in mind. This is about giving them real power and control.
Also, Chief Osasu Igbinedion Ogwuche CEO, TOS stated and I quote;
“When women have economic power, they automatically have the power to choose. They are empowered to make choices that benefit themselves, their loved ones and their communities at large. Our economic power is not just a moral imperative, it’s a necessary step towards achieving personal goals and nation development”
This means that when women have money and control over their finances, it benefits everyone. They invest in their families’ education and health, create jobs, and help their communities. This isn’t just an idea; you can see it happening in markets and workshops all over Nigeria.
To make things better, we need to take action. The government needs to spend more money on programs that help women’s businesses. We need to create programs that give them money and equipment. We need to teach them how to use digital tools and manage their finances. We need to make it easier for them to own land. And banks need to create services that work for women.
Partnerships between different organizations are also important. Groups are already working on this, and working with local women’s groups and leaders will help even more.
These women know what they want and are ready to work hard. They’re not waiting for handouts; they want the tools to make their dreams a reality. They’re ready to change Nigeria’s economy if they get the chance.
These women, from small sellers to farmers, are the key to a better Nigerian economy. The question isn’t whether they’re ready, but whether we’re ready to support them.
Find out how you can contribute and make an impact here
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