Gender Focused $100M Facility Signals Strong Support For Women Entrepreneurs in Nigeria

• WEEWantMore urges greater transparency in women-focused lending by Access Bank and others
• The credit aims at financing gaps for women entrepreneurs facing structural barriers
• The campaign will keep tracking progress or gaps across Nigeria’s financial system

Access Bank’s $100M MSME facility earns praise from WEEWantMore for prioritizing female entrepreneurs and women-led enterprises recently. Backed by key global institutions, the facility aims to bridge credit access for women entrepreneurs hindered by collateral bias and financial system inequities.  

Through a public letter and coordinated advocacy, the campaign called for actionable reforms such as gender-aligned MSME targets, dedicated credit lines, and equitable distribution of intervention funds-positioning gender-inclusive finance as a national priority.

WEEWantMore is pushing for full transparency from banks on how funds are allocated to women entrepreneurs, while demanding simplified process and equitable lending conditions to maximize accessibility.

Gatefield partners with Eden Venture Group and WRTHY to Launch #WEEWantMore Campaign supporting women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The campaign signals continued monitoring of industry-wide progress toward inclusive financing.

“Access Bank’s commitment is a welcome first move and clear proof that advocacy works. This announcement is a strong signal that gender-responsive financing is not only possible, but essential for Nigeria’s economic growth.” said Fifehan Osikanlu, Co-Founder of Eden Venture Group. “We now need this to be replicated across the financial sector to close persistent gender gaps and unlock broader national prosperity.”

“This is the kind of bold, targeted commitment we have been calling for,” said Joy Una, Special Initiatives Lead at Gatefield. “This is about fixing broken economics. Nigeria is leaving $229 billion on the table by underfunding women entrepreneurs. It’s time for banks to stop seeing gender equity as charity and start recognizing it as a strategy,” she said.