IIF charts path for inclusive finance with new gender equity report

The Impact Investors Foundation (IIF), Nigeria’s leading platform for mobilising impact capital, has unveiled the country’s first Inclusive Capital Scorecard and Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Baseline Report, to institutionalise inclusive finance and gender lens investing in Nigeria.

Speaking at the 4th Gender Impact Investment Summit (GIIS), with the theme, ‘From Commitment to Action: Strengthening Inclusive Gender Lens Investment for Nigeria’s Growth,’ Etemore Glover, chief executive Officer of IIF, described the report as a strategic tool for dismantling structural barriers within Nigeria’s financial architecture.

According to Glover, despite women owning nearly 40 percent of businesses in Nigeria, access to formal credit and investment capital remains disproportionately low (less than 5 percent), limiting enterprise growth and broader economic productivity.

The summit convened policymakers, development finance institutions, investors, regulators, and private-sector leaders at a critical moment for advancing Nigeria’s women economic empowerment agenda.

The event moved beyond advocacy to focus on measurable accountability, implementation, and capital deployment for women, youths, and persons living with disabilities.

At the centre of the summit was the unveiling of the GESI Baseline Report, designed to serve as a national reference framework for tracking inclusion outcomes, identifying financing gaps, and benchmarking institutional progress across the investment ecosystem.

The report is expected to strengthen data-driven policymaking and deepen accountability in inclusive capital allocation.

Ibukun Awosika, chair of the IIF Board and vice chair of GSG Impact, noted that the summit signals a transition from symbolic commitments to actionable outcomes.

Awosika stressed that embedding GESI principles into investment decisions, policy frameworks, and institutional structures is critical to unlocking inclusive economic growth and long-term national competitiveness.

The summit also featured a high-level policy roundtable involving regulators, ministries, and development institutions aimed at accelerating implementation of inclusive finance policies across sectors, particularly climate-resilient industries and underserved markets.

Delivering the keynote address titled, ‘Turning Gender Equity into Economic Advantage,’ Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II emphasised that gender inclusion should no longer be viewed merely as a social objective but as an economic imperative capable of driving productivity, innovation, and national prosperity.

In a bid to translate conversations into capital flows, the summit introduced enhanced physical and virtual deal rooms connecting investors with scalable women-led enterprises.

Organisers disclosed that the initiative generated soft investment commitments estimated at approximately $250,000.

Technical sessions at the event further focused on equipping institutions with diagnostic frameworks, investment readiness tools, and data systems needed to mainstream GESI and gender lens investing into core operational and financing strategies.

The urgency of the intervention is underscored by Nigeria’s persistent inclusion gap. Current estimates show that women remain significantly underserved within the formal financial system, limiting the country’s ability to fully harness its demographic and entrepreneurial potential.

With the launch of the GESI Baseline Report, IIF is positioning inclusive finance not simply as a development conversation, but as a strategic economic growth agenda capable of reshaping Nigeria’s investment landscape and ensuring broader participation in national prosperity.