Lagos, group to expand women exporters’ funding

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Lagos State Government has partnered with Made in Africa Brands Ambassador to improve women exporters’ access to financing of up to N5m and work with the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service to raise packaging standards and reduce the rejection of Nigerian products in international markets.

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The partnership formed part of the resolutions reached at the SheExports Conference 2026 held in Lagos on Tuesday, by MABA in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment under the theme, ‘Produce, Add Value and Export: A Catalyst for Sustainable Economic Growth’.

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Speaking at the conference, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Made in Africa Brands Ambassador, Flora Mbeledeogu, said the initiative was designed to prepare women entrepreneurs for global trade by improving product quality, packaging, certification and traceability.

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She said poor product quality and substandard packaging remained major reasons Nigerian exports were rejected overseas.

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“We have a lot of work to do among ourselves as women entrepreneurs before we embark on exporting. Product rejections are based on product quality, processing, packaging, certification and traceability. What we are doing now is to get it right locally in terms of certifications, product quality, the right packaging and traceability,” Mbeledeogu said.

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She encouraged women exporters to obtain the required certifications through the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service to ensure their products met international standards.

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“We need to get all the proper certifications required and go through the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service to get the phytosanitary certifications. You cannot export alone. You must collaborate with other stakeholders to get it done right,” Mbeledeogu added.

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She further stated that MABA has already begun working with a distribution company in the Netherlands interested in sourcing products from participants, making it necessary for exporters to meet global quality requirements.

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She disclosed that the SheExports programme had already trained 120 women entrepreneurs on exports and international trade after selecting the first cohort from more than 300 applicants.

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Also speaking, Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, said the state government will support women-led businesses with financing through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund and expand collaborations with financial institutions to increase access to export funding.

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“We must work together to create gender-responsive lending facilities. We have a standard facility that fits them from N15,000 to N5m, but we also have people who are bigger than that. So, how do we work with other banks and retail banking to support them? If we as a government take this upon ourselves, we can take it to the next level,” Ajigbotafe said.

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He noted that the LSETF had already disbursed billions of naira in single-digit interest loans and grants to Lagos entrepreneurs, most of whom are women: “The Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, has disbursed billions of naira in low-interest loans at a single-digit nine per cent per annum and grants to Lagos entrepreneurs, the majority of whom are women. This is not charity. This is strategic economic investment in our greatest asset, which is our people.”

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The commissioner said women continued to face barriers, including limited access to finance, inadequate trade infrastructure and restricted market opportunities, stressing that the conference was created to address those challenges.

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He urged public and private sector stakeholders to strengthen partnerships that will improve women’s participation in production, value addition and exports.

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On her part, Director-General of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Adaobi Onyedum, said Nigeria’s export potential remained largely untapped despite growing non-oil exports.

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“In 2025, our exporters sent 281 distinct non-oil products to 120 countries around the world, while export volume rose to 8.02 million metric tonnes. Yet Nigeria’s share of global trade remains only 0.26 per cent. The gap between where we are and where we could be is not a crisis; it is an opportunity,” Onyedum said.

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She urged exporters to focus on value addition instead of exporting raw commodities, saying processed products generate significantly higher earnings in international markets.

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Meanwhile, international trade expert and Chief Executive Officer of Traxis Global, Ijeoma Okonkwo, said women entrepreneurs must ensure they are fully prepared before entering export markets: “Everybody wants to export, but you need to ask yourself whether you are actually ready. You need scalability, trust, the right licences, proper packaging and an understanding of the regulations in your target markets.”

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She acknowledged that funding also remains a major barrier, stating, “Export is not cheap. More access to grants and loans for women will go a long way.”

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