Finance
Women Entrepreneurs
The Secret To Sustainable Development As the administration paves the way for gender inclusivity, Nigeria’s women entrepreneurs are taking local businesses to even greater heights by fearlessly taking on leadership roles.
NIGERIA
NEXT LEVEL
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Women participate in the economy primarily through entrepreneurial businesses, most of which are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). MSMEs employ 84% of Nigeria’s labour force and contribute 48.47% to Nigeria’s GDP.
In 2018, only 50% of women in Nigeria had an active role in the labour force. Although this participation hasn’t greatly evolved over the past 20 years, recent shifts to a services-based economy and the prestige associated with women’s entrepreneurship are opening up incredible opportunities for Nigerian women to play a more active role in business. Some of these advancements are tearing down walls and creating gender inclusivity across the entire country, especially in the realm of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) where women are continuously taking on leadership roles. As with any moment of progress, there are societal and economic challenges facing these enterprises that underscore the support Nigerian women need in order to grow their businesses. Women entrepreneurs will only be able to seize the country’s opportunities with the right support systems in place. Women’s potential to participate in businesses play a key role in driving economic growth, but social development is limited by lowered access to finance or capacity building opportunities, lack of access to credit and regulations that prohibit inclusion-enhancing products. But the good news is that the solutions to these obstacles are already being implemented throughout the country. Support systems that promote education and training, business advice, financial support and technology are paving the way for women in Nigeria to be invaluable assets to the economy. One such support system for female entrepreneurs is tied to financial inclusion. In a survey, only 52% of female-led firms had a business bank account. Without these accounts, business owners are prohibited from accessing loans and many other necessary financial services to grow their business. New developments in fintech and the banking sectors are converting this obstacle of the past into an opportunity of the future.
