By Media360Impact Editorial Team
HONOLULU, HAWAII — At a recent seminar organized by the Atlantic International University (AIU) in Hawaii, development policy expert, Dr. Taiwo Akerele, PhD, Executive Director of Policy House International, and Policy Economist, presented a compelling paper focused on bridging the gender gap in access to finance for small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular emphasis on Nigeria.
Dr. Akerele underscored that while SMEs are the backbone of most African economies, their average contribution to GDP remains at a modest 10 percent, largely due to systemic barriers including low access to finance, poor financial literacy, limited technology adoption, and an unfriendly business environment.
He argued that these barriers affect women entrepreneurs disproportionately, despite their growing role in national development and household sustainability.
“Access to reliable and sustainable finance remains a chronic challenge, but its impact is even more severe on women-owned enterprises,” Akerele observed.
Drawing from economic theories and development models, Akerele referenced Adam Smith’s classical economic model and dependency theory to illustrate how global economic systems often sustain inequalities that disadvantage developing countries and, by extension, women-led businesses within them.
He highlighted that women in Nigeria have less than 50% access to formal financial services compared to men, even though they are equally active economically. The barriers, according to him, include lack of collateral, limited financial literacy, and rigid loan procedures.
Institutional Responses and Progress
Dr. Akerele acknowledged that several Nigerian institutions and government initiatives have made notable progress in supporting women entrepreneurs.
Among these are:
The Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme, with a ₦50 billion portfolio — 40% of which went to women beneficiaries;
The Rural Area Programme on Investment for Development (RAPID), which supported 55 women-led businesses with ₦327 million;
The Bank of Industry’s Fashion Fund, a ₦1 billion scheme tailored for women in fashion entrepreneurship.
He also referenced the Nigeria for Women Project and the Ideas Project under the Federal Ministry of Education as part of broader institutional frameworks designed to support female economic empowerment.
Persistent Barriers and the Way Forward
Despite these efforts, Dr. Akerele noted that supply-side constraints such as high interest rates, stringent collateral demands, and weak documentation systems continue to hinder women’s access to credit.
On the demand side, he pointed to low financial literacy, fear of loan default, and limited awareness of available opportunities.
He emphasized that no nation can achieve inclusive growth if its economic systems continue to discriminate against women, urging African governments and development partners to prioritize women’s access to credit as a poverty reduction strategy.
“The greater women’s access to loans and credit for their businesses, the lower the poverty gap,” he affirmed, citing the findings of Iwezi and Natcha (2024).
Dr. Akerele concluded that empowering women financially is not just a moral imperative but an economic necessity. He called for policy reforms, targeted budgeting, and equitable credit systems to ensure that at least 60% of national poverty alleviation efforts directly benefit women-led businesses.
