In a significant move aimed at accelerating inclusive economic growth across Africa, the African Development Bank Group has approved a $61 million financing package to support women-owned and women-led businesses in Nigeria.

The intervention, which will be implemented through the Development Bank of Nigeria, is expected to expand access to affordable credit for thousands of female entrepreneurs, particularly those operating in agriculture and other high-impact sectors.

The package reflects the Bank’s broader strategy of driving private sector-led growth while addressing one of the continent’s most persistent economic challenges, the financing gap facing women entrepreneurs. Across Africa, women-owned businesses continue to face limited access to finance despite their growing contribution to employment generation, food security, healthcare delivery, and community development.

Breaking Down the $61 Million Package

The approved financing package is structured through three key instruments designed to create both immediate and long-term impact.

The largest component is a $50 million gender-focused line of credit that will directly support women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises. This funding is expected to improve access to long-term capital and enable businesses to scale operations, invest in productive assets, and improve competitiveness.

In addition, the Bank approved an $8 million concessional facility under the Agri-Food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism. This facility targets agribusiness enterprises and seeks to unlock growth opportunities in agricultural value chains where women remain highly active but often underserved.

A further $3 million grant has been approved under the Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa programme, commonly known as AFAWA. The grant is funded through the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative and is intended to provide performance-based incentives and capacity-building support to strengthen women-focused lending.

Together, these instruments combine commercial financing, concessional resources, guarantees, and technical support, creating a comprehensive intervention model that addresses both capital access and institutional readiness.

A Strong Gender Focus at the Core

One of the defining features of this financing operation is its clear focus on gender inclusion. More than 95 percent of the total financing has been specifically earmarked for women-led and women-owned small and medium enterprises.

This demonstrates a deliberate effort by the African Development Bank to narrow Africa’s gender financing gap, a challenge that continues to limit economic participation among women entrepreneurs. By directing resources toward women-owned businesses, the Bank is positioning female entrepreneurship as a key driver of economic transformation.

The performance-based incentives under the AFAWA programme are also expected to increase the number of women-owned businesses that qualify for financing while encouraging financial institutions to expand lending targeted at women entrepreneurs.

Driving Growth Across Critical Sectors

The financing will be channelled through the Development Bank of Nigeria’s network of participating financial institutions, allowing the funds to reach businesses operating in strategic sectors such as agriculture, clean energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and other growth-oriented industries.

Agriculture remains a central focus due to its importance in job creation, food security, and rural development. Women play a dominant role in many agricultural value chains, yet they often face structural barriers including limited access to credit, land ownership challenges, and weak market linkages.

By addressing financing constraints in the agricultural sector, this initiative has the potential to increase productivity, improve household incomes, and strengthen local food systems.

AfDB’s Vision for Inclusive Development

Speaking on the approval, Dr. Abdul Kamara, Director General of the African Development Bank’s Nigeria Country Office, emphasized the importance of investing in women entrepreneurs as a pathway to national development.

He noted that women entrepreneurs represent one of Nigeria’s most valuable economic assets but remain significantly underutilized. According to him, the new financing package goes beyond simply expanding access to credit. It represents an investment in the very foundation of Nigeria’s inclusive economic transformation.

His remarks underscore a growing recognition among development institutions that women entrepreneurship is not just a social issue but an economic imperative.

This latest approval also reinforces the longstanding partnership between the African Development Bank and the Development Bank of Nigeria. The relationship dates back to the establishment of DBN, where AfDB played a foundational role through equity participation, long-term financing, and governance support in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria and other development partners.

This partnership has been instrumental in strengthening Nigeria’s financial ecosystem and improving access to capital for small and medium enterprises.

Aligning with Africa’s Development Agenda

The operation aligns with AfDB’s long-term strategic priorities, including its Ten-Year Strategy for 2024 to 2033, which places strong emphasis on inclusive growth, private sector development, and gender equality.

It also supports Nigeria’s Country Strategy Paper for 2025 to 2030, which prioritises youth and gender inclusion, green growth, entrepreneurship development, and sustainable economic expansion.

As African economies continue to seek resilient growth models, investments in women-led enterprises are increasingly being recognised as one of the most effective pathways to broad-based prosperity. Through this $61 million intervention, the African Development Bank is sending a strong message that empowering women entrepreneurs is central to Africa’s economic future.