Four in five female-run companies are denied formal loan opportunities, according to the Federal Government.

The Federal Government has revealed that a staggering 80 per cent of women-owned businesses in Nigeria lack access to formal credit, thereby hindering their growth and contribution to the economy, according to the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.

n

Sulaiman-Ibrahim made this disclosure on Monday in Abuja during the grand finale of the "Give-to-Gain" Summit, an event marking the 2026 International Women's Month, where she highlighted the significant role women play in the economy.

n

Despite accounting for over 50 per cent of Nigeria's population and more than 40 per cent of the agricultural labour force, women remain largely excluded from access to finance, land, and structured economic opportunities, Sulaiman-Ibrahim noted.

n

Most women-led enterprises are concentrated in the informal sector, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to expand access to credit and markets, she added.

n

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, represented by Executive Commissioner, Operations, Mr Bola Ajomale, emphasized the importance of integrating women into Nigeria's capital market to build wealth and drive long-term economic growth.

n

Agama highlighted that while Nigerian women are highly active economically, owning about 41 per cent of micro-businesses and numbering an estimated 23 million entrepreneurs, they remain largely excluded from capital market instruments that enable wealth creation and business expansion.

n

The challenge, according to Agama, is not whether women are economically active, but whether they can transition from earning income to building lasting wealth through asset ownership and investment.

n

The capital market provides a bridge between income and wealth, enabling enterprises to raise growth capital and allowing households to build assets over time, Agama stressed.

n

Although financial inclusion among women improved to 70 per cent in 2023, the gender gap has widened, indicating that progress for women is slower compared to the general population, Agama noted.

n

Regional disparities are also a concern, with higher levels of financial exclusion in northern Nigeria, particularly among women, farmers, and dependents, he added.

n

Other initiatives to address this issue include integrating gender considerations into sustainable finance frameworks, supporting women-led enterprises through targeted financial instruments, and strengthening investor protection to build confidence in the market.

n

Agama called on listed companies, market operators, institutional investors, and policymakers to take deliberate steps to improve women's representation and access to capital, noting that only about seven per cent of CEOs of listed Nigerian companies are women.

n

Achieving Nigeria's ambition of a one-trillion-dollar economy would require the full participation of women, particularly through access to capital market opportunities, Agama stressed.

n

The full participation of Nigerian women in the capital market is not a social aspiration, but the economic arithmetic of the country's national ambition, he said.