SEC Urges Women to Move from Micro-Finance to Capital Markets
By Patience Ikpeme
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called for a strategic shift in the financing of female-led enterprises, urging them to move from short-term micro-loans to long-term wealth generation through the Nigerian capital market.
Speaking on Monday at the grand finale of the “Give to Gain” Summit in Abuja to mark the 2026 International Women’s Month, the Director-General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, noted that while women are the backbone of the nation’s commerce, they remain largely excluded from sophisticated investment vehicles.
Dr. Agama, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Mr. Bola Ajomale, pointed out that Nigerian women currently own 41 percent of micro-businesses in the country. With 23 million female entrepreneurs, Nigeria maintains one of the highest rates of female entrepreneurship globally, significantly outpacing the 21 percent global average.
“These women are not waiting to be empowered. They are already driving commerce. What they lack is not ambition. They lack access to the instruments that would allow their ambition to compound,” Dr. Agama stated.
The SEC chief explained that the primary hurdle facing these millions of entrepreneurs is the lack of access to investment instruments that facilitate business expansion and asset ownership. To tackle this, the Commission is expanding retail access to the capital market via technology-driven platforms designed to lower entry barriers for first-time female investors.
The Commission is also translating investor education materials into local languages to boost financial literacy in underserved regions and promoting low-cost investment products. These tailored products allow women and small-scale business owners to participate in collective investment schemes even with modest income levels.
Furthermore, the SEC is weaving gender-focused criteria into Nigeria’s sustainable finance framework. This move creates specific pathways for women-led businesses to tap into targeted funding through gender-responsive and sustainability-linked securities.
“In the spirit of our theme, ‘Give to Gain,’ it affirms that when the State deliberately gives women fair opportunity in procurement systems, the nation gains in productivity, competitiveness, and inclusive growth,” the Director-General added.
To ensure a safe environment for these new investors, Dr. Agama said the Commission is intensifying efforts to improve market transparency and disclosure standards, while making dispute resolution mechanisms more accessible. He also invited the private sector to assist by lowering market barriers and increasing women’s representation in corporate boardrooms.
Supporting this vision, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, told the summit that the federal government is moving away from mere advocacy toward direct interventions. She revealed that over 80 percent of women-owned businesses currently lack access to formal credit, a factor that keeps them trapped in the informal sector.
In response, the government has launched the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions (RH-SII 774). This nationwide programme is designed to provide grants, microcredit, and enterprise financing across all 774 local government areas. The initiative is bolstered by the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policy of 2023, which ensures that these programmes yield measurable results.
In what is being described as a major policy shift, Hajiya Sulaiman-Ibrahim announced the approval of an Affirmative Procurement Policy. This mandate ensures that women-owned businesses have a guaranteed share of government contracts.
“This landmark intervention ensures structured and equitable access for women-owned enterprises to participate in public procurement processes, thereby opening government contracting systems as engines of inclusion and shared prosperity,” the Minister said. “It represents a decisive shift from policy intention to enforceable economic access.”
