Women entrepreneurs hail Access Bank for $100m MSME support fund

*A coalition of women entrepreneurs, under the banner of the ‘We Want More Campaign’, commends Access Bank Plc for its recent announcement of a $100 million loan facility to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, especially women businesses in the Nigerian economy

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

A coalition of women entrepreneurs, under the banner of the ‘We Want More Campaign’ (#WEEWantMore), has commended Access Bank’s recent announcement of a $100 million facility to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

ConsumerConnect had reported that Access Bank successfully closed a US$100 million senior loan facility with a consortium of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) recently.

The consortium was led by the German DFI DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, and supported by FinDev Canada, Amsterdam-based asset manager ILX, and Austrian DFI OeEB, Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG.

The leading banking group stated that the fresh significant financing would support privately-owned MSMEs, small corporates, and family-owned businesses across Nigeria, with a particular focus on promoting female entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.

Earlier the women had launched the “WEEWantMore” campaign online April 2025 like a petition, to draw the attention of the Nigerian Government and financial institutions to the funding challenges that women entrepreneurs encounter in the economy.

The women coalition, in a statement to reporters, highlighted that their online petition had garnered signatures of about 2,500 Nigerian female bank customers.

The statement also noted that the bank customers all support the call for increased funding for women-led businesses in Nigeria.

The coalition further appealed to the government, banks, and other financial institutions to allocate at least 40 percent of MSME loans, specifically to businesses owned by women.

The women coalition in a separate statement Monday, May 19 however, applauded Access Bank for announcing its recent $100 million facility to support MSMEs, with at least 30 percent earmarked for women-led enterprises.

The women further said gender advocates and campaigners had welcomed those move as brains behind the WEEwantMore initiative.

According to them, it is a veritable step towards bridging the financial inclusion gap for women in the Nigerian economy.

The statement further noted the Access Bank’s loan facility, backed by global development finance institutions, including DEG, FinDev Canada, ILX, and OeEB, would help to provide crucial funding to women entrepreneurs in the West African country.

The women coalition as well emphasised that several women have continued to face persistent barriers in accessing loans due to discriminatory collateral requirements, and systemic exclusion from traditional financial systems in the economy.

In regard to empowering women entrepreneurs, Joy Una of Gatefield, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), was quoted as saying, “This is the kind of bold, targeted commitment that women have been calling for.

“For far too long, women have carried the economy on their backs while being locked out of the capital needed to grow their businesses.”

Una stated: “Dedicating 30 percent of this facility to women is not just progress; it is a proof that advocacy works.

“The WEEWantMore campaign, launched in April by a coalition of women leaders and advocates, issued an open letter to Nigerian financial institutions and policymakers, demanding concrete action to close the funding gap for women-owned businesses.”

Women want gender-based lending targets, dedicated credit funds, access to intervention loans

The women also stated: “Among their demands are gender-based lending targets, dedicated credit funds, and simplified access to government intervention loans.

“Over 60 percent of Nigerian women entrepreneurs cite lack of access to capital as their greatest challenge.”

The statement noted: “Although women own more businesses than men in Nigeria, male-owned businesses consistently earn more revenue, largely due to better access to finance and resources.

“This announcement by Access Bank must be the beginning of broader structural reform.”

Una said: “We count this as a win, but we won’t stop pushing until every financial institution in Nigeria sees women not as charity cases, but as the backbone of our economy.”

Why we launched launched #WEEWantMore campaign -Eden Group

The statement also noted Fifehan Osikanlu, Founder of Eden Group, an NGO, said Access Bank’s announcement had sent a strong signal that gender-responsive financing is not only possible, but essential for Nigeria’s economic growth.

She stated that Eden Venture Group, in partnership with Gatefield, launched the #WEEWantMore campaign to advocate precisely this kind of institutional commitment.

Osikanlu assured that such commitments need to be replicated across the financial sector to close persistent gender gaps and unlock broader national prosperity.

Kindly Share This Story