AfDB Approves $61 M Package to Boost Women-Led Businesses and Agricultural SMEs in Nigeria

The financing package consists of three separate instruments designed to expand credit access while lowering financing risks for women-led enterprises.

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a major $61 million financing package aimed at dramatically expanding access to affordable credit for women-owned and women-led businesses in Nigeria, with a particular focus on agriculture, clean energy, healthcare, and other high-impact sectors driving inclusive economic growth.

Approved by the Bank's Board of Directors on 29 April, the financing package will be channelled through the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and is expected to strengthen lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), while addressing one of Africa's most persistent economic barriers — the massive financing gap facing women entrepreneurs.

The initiative represents one of the African Development Bank's most significant gender-focused financial interventions in Nigeria in recent years and reinforces growing international efforts to accelerate women's economic participation as a catalyst for sustainable development.

$61 Million Financing Package Combines Credit, Grants and Concessional Funding

The financing package consists of three separate instruments designed to expand credit access while lowering financing risks for women-led enterprises.

The package includes:

• A $50 million gender-focused line of credit aimed at increasing lending to women-owned and women-led businesses;

• An $8 million concessional facility under the Agri-Food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism (ACFM), designed to support agricultural enterprises and value-chain development;

• A $3 million grant under the African Development Bank's Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, funded by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).

The African Development Bank said the blended financing structure combines long-term capital, concessional resources, partial credit guarantees, and technical assistance to help participating financial institutions increase lending to underserved entrepreneurs.

The funds will be distributed through DBN's network of participating commercial and microfinance institutions across Nigeria.

More Than 95 Percent of Financing Reserved for Women-Led Businesses

A defining feature of the operation is its strong gender focus, with more than 95 percent of the total financing earmarked specifically for women-owned and women-led SMEs (WSMEs).

The targeted intervention seeks to narrow Africa's estimated $42 billion gender financing gap, which continues to limit the growth potential of millions of female entrepreneurs across the continent.

According to development finance institutions, women-led businesses in Africa frequently face systemic barriers including limited collateral, discriminatory lending practices, lower access to financial services, and restricted investment opportunities despite consistently demonstrating strong repayment records.

The African Development Bank said the financing aligns closely with the objectives of both AFAWA and ACFM, while supporting the institution's broader strategy to drive gender-inclusive growth across Africa.

Under the programme, performance-based incentives will encourage participating financial institutions to expand the number of eligible women-owned enterprises receiving financing and increase the share of women-focused lending within DBN's MSME portfolio.

AfDB Says Women Entrepreneurs Are "Underleveraged Economic Assets"

Commenting on the approval, Dr. Abdul Kamara, Director General of the African Development Bank Group's Nigeria Country Office, described Nigerian women entrepreneurs as one of the country's most important but underutilized economic forces.

"Women entrepreneurs are one of Nigeria's greatest economic assets and one of its most underleveraged," Kamara said.

"This operation reflects the African Development Bank's commitment to unlocking economic opportunities for women. By working through DBN to reach women-owned businesses in agriculture, clean energy, healthcare, and beyond, we are not just expanding access to credit; the Bank is investing in the engine of Nigeria's inclusive economic transformation."

Economic analysts say increasing access to finance for women-led businesses could significantly boost productivity, job creation, household incomes, and economic resilience in Nigeria, where MSMEs account for a substantial share of employment and economic activity.

Agriculture and Food Security Central to Financing Strategy

A major component of the package focuses on agriculture and agri-food enterprises, reflecting the sector's importance to Nigeria's economy and food security.

Nigeria's agricultural sector employs millions of women, many of whom remain concentrated in informal or small-scale operations with limited access to credit, technology, insurance, and modern supply chains.

The Agri-Food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism is expected to help agricultural businesses scale operations, improve productivity, strengthen value chains, and increase resilience against economic and climate-related shocks.

Development experts note that improving financing for women in agriculture can have a multiplier effect on nutrition, rural development, poverty reduction, and community stability.

The financing also supports businesses operating in renewable energy, healthcare, and other sectors critical to Nigeria's long-term sustainable development goals.

Longstanding Partnership Between AfDB and Development Bank of Nigeria

The latest operation further deepens the African Development Bank's longstanding partnership with the Development Bank of Nigeria, an institution established to improve financing access for MSMEs.

The AfDB played a foundational role in DBN's establishment through start-up equity contributions, governance support, and long-term financing assistance, alongside the Federal Government of Nigeria and other international development partners.

Since its launch, DBN has become a major wholesale development finance institution supporting Nigerian financial institutions in expanding MSME lending.

The new financing package is expected to strengthen DBN's ability to scale its gender-inclusive lending portfolio while improving financial inclusion nationwide.

Financing Supports Nigeria's Inclusive Growth and Gender Equality Goals

The operation aligns with several strategic priorities of both the African Development Bank and the Nigerian government.

According to the Bank, the programme supports its Ten-Year Strategy (2024–2033), which prioritizes inclusive growth, private sector development, climate resilience, and gender equality.

The initiative also aligns with the Bank's "Four Cardinal Points" framework, particularly the pillar focused on harnessing demographic transformation for economic development.

At the national level, the financing complements Nigeria's Country Strategy Paper (2025–2030), which emphasizes green growth, youth inclusion, women's empowerment, entrepreneurship development, and sustainable economic diversification.

Experts say empowering women entrepreneurs is increasingly recognized as essential for accelerating economic transformation across Africa, particularly as countries seek to create jobs for rapidly growing populations and strengthen resilience against inflation, food insecurity, and global economic shocks.

With women-led enterprises often concentrated in high-impact community sectors such as agriculture, retail, healthcare, and services, expanding access to finance could help unlock broader socioeconomic gains across Nigeria.

The African Development Bank's latest intervention signals growing momentum among international financial institutions to place women entrepreneurs at the center of Africa's economic development agenda.