The United Kingdom Government and FSD Africa have dedicated $335,000 to set up an funding community aimed toward mobilising $2.7m (about N3.6 billion) from Nigerian traders to assist women-led businesses throughout the nation.
The funding, funded by the UK Government by means of the British High Commission in Nigeria, will assist the institution of the RiTA Investment Network by Rising Tide Africa, a women-led, pan-African community of angel traders.
The initiative goals to entice capital from Nigerian high-net-worth people, angel traders and household workplaces to finance 15 small and rising women-led businesses over the following three years.
Speaking on the initiative, Head of Green Growth and Private Sector Development on the British High Commission, Paul Healey, mentioned the partnership was a part of the UK Government’s broader assist for enhancing entry to finance for promising businesses.
“Women entrepreneurs are building successful businesses across Nigeria, but many still face barriers to accessing the investment they need to grow. This partnership between the UK Government, FSD Africa and Rising Tide Africa is changing that,” he mentioned.
Healey added that the initiative would strengthen connections between entrepreneurs and traders, creating alternatives for businesses to broaden, generate employment and contribute to Nigeria’s economic system.
Director for Early-Stage Finance at FSD Africa, Juliet Munro, mentioned the community would assist mobilise home capital and direct it in the direction of businesses requiring progress financing.
“Nigeria does not lack capital. Women angel investors in Rising Tide Africa have shown for years that they will back women-led businesses with their own money. The RiTA Investment Network gives that capital the structure and instrument to grow, in Naira, and at scale,” she mentioned.
The initiative seeks to handle financing challenges going through small businesses, significantly these owned by ladies. According to the International Finance Corporation, Nigerian small businesses face a financing hole of about N13tn, with 19 in 20 unable to entry formal finance.
Women personal roughly 40 per cent of the nation’s small businesses however face credit score rejection at greater than 3 times the speed of males.
The community will present an funding platform supported by skilled credit score evaluation, an funding committee, an advisory board and monitoring methods to assist traders make knowledgeable financing selections.
Its financing mannequin will primarily contain revenue-based finance, beneath which repayments fluctuate with enterprise gross sales. The method is meant to assist worthwhile businesses that lack collateral and are not looking for to give up possession to fairness traders.
Yemi Keri, normal associate and spokesperson for the RiTA Investment Network, mentioned the funding would strengthen its capability to finance women-led enterprises.
“Women-led businesses in Nigeria are growing, and they need lenders who understand how they work. We founded RiTA to give investors a disciplined way to lend to them, one business at a time,” she mentioned.
Keri added that FSD Africa’s assist would assist set up the buildings and methods wanted to broaden the initiative.
Rising Tide Africa has secured about $1.5m in comfortable commitments from its community, whereas the platform goals to mobilise roughly eight {dollars} in Nigerian non-public capital for each greenback invested by FSD Africa.
The community accomplished its first transaction in September 2026, involving a syndicated company observe to Ororo Waste Management Limited, whereas two different businesses are present process structuring and due diligence.
The longer-term ambition is to assist the launch of a $10m naira-denominated progress debt fund for women-led businesses.
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