Sterling Bank Plc is stepping up efforts to close Nigeria’s estimated $42 billion financing gap for women-led businesses, using its OneWoman initiative to expand access to capital, skills, and networks in a move aimed at unlocking broader economic growth.
- +Sterling Bank targets $42bn gender finance gap with OneWoman push
The bank, through its women-focused platform OneWoman, convened entrepreneurs, development finance institutions, and ecosystem leaders at the Funding Her Future Breakfast Dialogue in Lagos on March 31, bringing together stakeholders to address persistent barriers to financing for women.
The bank, through its women-focused platform OneWoman, convened entrepreneurs, development finance institutions, and ecosystem leaders at the Funding Her Future Breakfast Dialogue in Lagos on March 31, bringing together stakeholders to address persistent barriers to financing for women.
Held in Ikoyi, the session focused on how to build more inclusive and effective financing pathways for women-led enterprises, with discussions extending beyond access to capital to include business readiness, ecosystem support, and institutional collaboration needed to drive long-term resilience.
Speaking at the event, Abubakar Suleiman, managing director and chief executive officer said the dialogue was designed to translate intent into tangible outcomes.
“Today is about going further. It is about turning shared belief into shared action,” he said.
In remarks delivered on his behalf by Edward Ogunmekan, chief growth officer, Suleiman described the initiative as a convergence of finance, enterprise, and inclusion.
“We are honoured to host such a distinguished gathering of partners, investors, women entrepreneurs, and business leaders, all brought together by one important question: how do we expand access to meaningful finance for women-led businesses in a way that is scalable, sustainable, and commercially sound?”
He added that Sterling’s long-standing strategy has been anchored on backing high-potential people and sectors, a philosophy that led to the creation of the OneWoman initiative.
According to him, the platform is structured around three pillars, capital, capacity, and community, reflecting the bank’s view that financing alone is insufficient to drive sustainable growth.
“Women-led businesses need the right support systems, the right networks, and the right ecosystem to grow with confidence and scale with resilience,” he said.
The dialogue featured two panel sessions with representatives from funding institutions, women-focused organisations, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem partners, offering practical insights into financing opportunities and the broader support structures required to sustain growth.
Ezinne Nwokafor, head of the OneWoman Initiative, said the scale of the financing gap underscores the urgency of coordinated action, noting that a significant majority of Nigerian women remain excluded from formal credit.
She cited estimates from the International Finance Corporation showing that women entrepreneurs in Nigeria face an annual financing gap of about $42 billion, despite accounting for a substantial share of micro, small, and medium enterprises.
“More than half of women-led businesses identify access to finance as a major constraint, while rejection rates for loan applications remain significantly higher for women than for men,” she said.
Nwokafor attributed the gap to structural challenges, including limited asset ownership, social norms, and restricted access to financial data and visibility, which continue to constrain women’s ability to secure funding.
She said the OneWoman initiative is designed to address these barriers by combining financial solutions with mentorship, capacity building, and community support across different stages of business development.
In 2025 alone, the initiative disbursed N43.9 billion in loans to 2,450 female entrepreneurs, trained 6,000 women, and reached about 380,000 across its focus segments, which include career women, women in business, and early-stage entrants.
Sterling Bank aims to scale this impact significantly, targeting N500 billion in financing for one million women by 2030.
Akporee Idenedo, divisional head of Commercial Banking, said strengthening skills and capacity will remain central to building a sustainable ecosystem for women entrepreneurs, alongside expanded access to funding.
The Funding Her Future Breakfast Dialogue forms part of Sterling Bank’s broader strategy to deepen support for women through targeted financing, enterprise development, and community-driven growth, positioning women-led businesses as a critical driver of job creation and economic progress in Nigeria.
