Experts advocate increased funding for women-led businesses

International development and gender experts have called for increased private and public funding for women-founded businesses as data showed that fewer women founders have access to capital.

This was made known at the Gender Impact Investment Summit held in Lagos, themed “From Promise to Progress; Accelerating Impact Capital for women-led enterprises.

Afolabi Oladele, chairman, Impact Investment Summit, highlighted the persisting gender financing gap and called on investors to support female entrepreneurs in creating thriving businesses that contribute to economic development.

“Global awareness on inclusive financing is high, yet gender financing gaps persist. This gap continues to widen due to the lack of awareness of the multi-billion dollar opportunity in the women’s market in depth and scope. It’s key for financial service providers and policymakers to understand the nature of the gender financial inclusion gap and the women’s market to create tailored solutions for women,” he stated.

Ibukun Awosika, Chairperson, Nigerian National Advisory Board for Impact Investing stated that impact investing makes it possible to solve some of the challenges women in business face in terms of accessing capital for their businesses.

“Impact capital is a game changer because it provides an opportunity to maximise the talent that women bring into the market space. Nigeria is one of the most entrepreneurial nations, with women at the forefront. It means this latent potential has to be unleashed for growth,” she said.

According to the World Economic Forum, only 2 percent of Venture Capital Funding globally was invested in women-led businesses. When assessed from the number of female-cofounded businesses, the number goes up to 17 percent.

In Europe, startups founded only by women have grown their share of VC deals from 2.7 percent to 5 percent between 2008 and 2024.

While, in the US, startups founded exclusively by women have grown their share of deal volume over the same period from 3.8 percent to 5.4 percent.

“In total, the number of deals for women-founded teams over the last decade has grown more than twice as fast as deal volume for all-male-founded teams,” the WEF stated.

Zimu Xu, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Cranfield University stated that there are fewer women who are in businesses to start with, resulting in few women receiving funding which requires a strategic approach to bridge the gap.

“We have a supply issue of women in business as well as a supply issue of women investors, making investment decisions. Unequal access to finance for women is only the tip of the inequality iceberg. It’s important to balance short-term goals with long-term ones and balance the entrepreneurial ecosystem by making it more inclusive,” she said.

Finally, Etemore Glover, CEO Impact Investment Foundation advocated for continuous dialogue and collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure that the strategies proffered are effectively implemented and sustained.

“This summit has been a significant step towards breaking down the barriers that limit access to capital for women-led businesses. The solutions discussed are critical to ensuring that women entrepreneurs thrive in Nigeria’s business landscape,” she said.