CITIZENS COMPASS— Across Nigeria, women entrepreneurs are building enterprises that sustain households, create jobs, strengthen communities and contribute to economic growth. They operate across agriculture, fashion, food processing, education, retail, manufacturing, technology, healthcare and professional services. Their businesses reflect resilience, ingenuity and an ability to create value despite a demanding operating environment.
The ambition is evident. Mastercard research published in 2025 found that 83 per cent of Nigerian women considered themselves entrepreneurs, while 90 per cent expressed a desire to start their own businesses. The research also found that 93 per cent of Nigerian business owners expected revenue growth over the following five years.
Yet ambition alone cannot finance inventory, purchase equipment, employ additional workers or open new locations. As contemporary discussions on financing women-led businesses increasingly show, the defining challenge is often the distance between a viable opportunity and the capital required to pursue it.
The gender funding gap
Nigeria has one of the most dynamic entrepreneurship landscapes in Africa, with women accounting for a substantial proportion of micro, small and medium sized enterprises. A national report released in 2026 estimated that women own almost 40 per cent of Nigerian businesses, but receive a disproportionately small share of formal credit.
The International Finance Corporation estimates that closing gender participation gaps across key sectors could add as much as 22.9 billion dollars to the Nigerian economy. The institution identifies access to productive assets, including finance, technology and markets, as an important requirement for increasing the participation of women as entrepreneurs and business leaders.
These figures strengthen the case for treating finance for women entrepreneurs as an economic priority. The funding gap affects everyday business decisions. A caterer wins a major contract but cannot purchase the equipment and ingredients required to deliver it. A manufacturer identifies growing demand but lacks the capital to increase production. A retailer needs additional stock before a peak sales period but cannot bridge the cash flow gap.
In each case, the entrepreneur has identified the opportunity and demonstrated the capacity to grow. The missing link is appropriate business financing.
Beyond conventional lending
The current debate extends beyond the amount of credit available. It also concerns how financial institutions assess women-led businesses, structure repayments and combine capital with relevant business support.
Many women entrepreneurs operate businesses with limited collateral, incomplete financial records or short formal credit histories. These conditions can make conventional lending requirements difficult to satisfy, even where the underlying business is viable. The result is a cycle in which enterprises remain small because they cannot access finance, while lenders consider them unsuitable for finance because they remain small.
Recent Nigerian lending data offers an important response to assumptions about risk. A 2025 impact report cited in 2026 found that women owned businesses recorded a loan default rate two and a half times lower than male borrowers within the portfolio studied. Women still accounted for only 36 per cent of the loans issued, while 62 per cent of surveyed female borrowers said the facility received was their first formal business loan.
The implication is clear. Expanding access to finance for women-led businesses can support financial inclusion while opening a commercially valuable market for responsible lenders.
HerFidelity as an integrated response
It is within this context that Fidelity Bank developed HerFidelity, its proposition for Nigerian women. Launched in 2022, HerFidelity was created to support women owned businesses, job creation and economic development through four connected pillars, financial support, business management and capacity building, health and wellness, and entrepreneurship support.
This structure reflects an important shift in gender inclusive banking. Sustainable enterprise growth requires capital, but it also requires knowledge, networks, financial discipline and access to opportunities. HerFidelity therefore brings financing together with business education, mentorship, entrepreneurship support and wellness initiatives.
Explaining the thinking behind the proposition, Fidelity Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Nneka Onyeali Ikpe, said that her engagements with women across industries had shown that talent and ambition were abundant, while access to capital, skills development, health support and networks remained limited. She said HerFidelity was created to bridge these gaps through access to capital, capacity building, wellness and entrepreneurship support.
FundHer and next stage of growth
FundHer represents the financial support pillar of this wider proposition. The product is designed for women-led small and medium sized enterprises that require financing for working capital, asset acquisition or business expansion.
Eligible businesses can access up to 50 million naira for working capital, including stock, raw materials and operations. Asset financing of up to 100 million naira is available for equipment, vehicles, office furniture and other eligible assets. Business expansion financing of up to 100 million naira can support needs such as office space, renovations and operational growth. Repayment periods range from 12 to 24 months, subject to eligibility, applicable terms and credit approval.
This makes FundHer relevant to businesses at different points in their growth journeys. A fashion entrepreneur may require additional materials and machinery. An agribusiness owner may need processing equipment. A healthcare provider may wish to expand a facility. A technology business may need resources to recruit employees and serve more customers.
FundHer provides a logical response because it aligns the purpose of the financing with the actual needs of growing women-led businesses.
Capital that creates wider value
Fidelity Bank has demonstrated a sustained commitment to financing and supporting women. 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 approach to women’s economic empowerment through financial inclusion, capacity building and wellness initiatives. This included digital skills training delivered in partnership with ImpactHER, which equipped more than 6,000 women entrepreneurs and female led SMEs with relevant business management and digital capabilities.
These interventions matter because the impact of financing women entrepreneurs extends beyond individual businesses. Capital can enable an enterprise to fulfil larger orders, increase production, adopt technology, formalise operations and create employment. It can also strengthen household incomes and expand economic activity within local communities.
Bridging the funding gap for women-led businesses therefore requires solutions that recognise their commercial potential and respond to their practical realities. HerFidelity provides the broader platform of financial support, capacity building, wellness and entrepreneurship assistance. FundHer translates its financial inclusion objective into accessible and purpose driven business financing.
For Nigerian women ready to move from resilience to scale, the combination offers a clear proposition. It connects ambition with capital, and capital with the knowledge and support required to build stronger and more sustainable enterprises.
