Nigeria Risks Massive Economic Loss Under AfCFTA Without Dedicated Financial Support For Women-Led Climate Enterprises

Stakeholders warn Nigeria must fund women-led green businesses to thrive in the $3.5T AfCFTA market and bridge the $158B financing gap.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 1, 2026, 9:13 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from The Nation

The Growing Necessity of Gender Inclusive Climate Finance

During a high-level dialogue organized by Women Leading Climate Action in Abuja, policymakers and investors warned that Nigeria's position in the African Continental Free Trade Area depends on its support for female entrepreneurs. According to Amanda Archibong-Doukouré, the founder of WLCA, women currently dominate essential sectors like agro-processing and clean energy adoption but remain largely invisible to formal investment pipelines. The dialogue underscored that as Nigeria enters a market of 1.3 billion consumers, the failure to align capital with these enterprises represents a significant missed opportunity for national economic growth.

Barriers Within the Current Financial Architecture

The existing climate finance landscape in Nigeria, which mobilizes approximately $2.5 billion annually, is often structured in a way that excludes early-stage businesses. Archibong-Doukouré noted that most available funding is designed for large, established corporations with significant collateral, creating a "missing middle" where women-led SMEs are left without resources. While women own nearly half of the micro-enterprises in the country, they face a staggering $158 billion financing gap that prevents them from scaling their green solutions to a regional level.

Economic Returns of Diverse Investment Portfolios

The argument for funding women-led climate businesses extends beyond social equity and into proven commercial viability. Gautier Mignot, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, stated that nearly four in ten businesses in the country are owned by women, yet they lack the capital to integrate into broader value chains. Mignot pointed out that failing to enable these innovators results in losing half of the nation's capacity to advance a green economy. Supporting this view, data from the International Finance Corporation suggests that gender-diverse investments consistently perform better and exhibit stronger repayment behaviors.