Nigeria’s long-running challenge of financial exclusion—especially for women, youth, and People with Disabilities (PwDs)—is now being tackled with an ambitious new roadmap that sets the stage for a decade of inclusive investment.
The Impact Investors Foundation (IIF) on Tuesday announced a plan to mobilize $8 billion in gender-inclusive capital over the next ten years, part of its Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Roadmap 2025–2035. The document, launched at the third Gender Impact Investment Summit (GIIS) in Lagos, lays out a sweeping strategy to embed inclusion into Nigeria’s economic DNA.
Themed “Investing in Equity: Advancing Gender-Led Solutions for Inclusive Development”, the summit brought together stakeholders across finance, policy, and development, underlining the urgency of confronting what has been described as a bottleneck to national growth.
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Developed with PwC Nigeria, the GESI roadmap sets out bold milestones of a cumulative $8 billion in inclusive capital; the creation of 40 inclusive financial products; $1.5 billion in mobilized domestic capital pools; 90% adoption of GESI principles among General Partners; and the enactment of 20 new regulatory instruments.
“This roadmap is not just a plan; it’s a blueprint for a significant shift in Nigeria’s economy,” said IIF’s CEO, Etemore Glover. “The scale of the targets underscores our profound commitment to a future where no one is left behind.”
To turn ambition into action, IIF also launched the Nigeria Inclusive Capital Commitment 2035 campaign, a platform that challenges governments, investors, and intermediaries to commit to measurable outcomes—from capital mobilization to embedding inclusion in investment decisions.
Chairman of IIF, Frank Aigbogun, stressed that financial exclusion is not a side issue but a central barrier to Nigeria’s development.
“This GESI Roadmap is therefore not a social add-on; it is an economic imperative,” he said. “By intentionally dismantling financial barriers, we unlock immense, untapped potential, ensuring that economic growth in Nigeria is not only rapid but also truly equitable and transformative.”
Stakeholders at the summit underscored the importance of accountability. Ibukun Awosika, Chair of GSG Nigeria Partner, said the roadmap “moves us beyond aspiration to accountability, demanding that stakeholders embed GESI principles into every investment decision and policy.”
Her comments were echoed by Jessica Espinoza, CEO of 2X Global, who said intentional investment in women, youth, and PwDs could unlock new growth engines.
“The GESI roadmap is a critical blueprint for dismantling financial barriers and unleashing the nation’s economic potential,” she said.
The summit included a dedicated deal room, which connected women-led and women-owned businesses with investors, fund managers, and development finance institutions, creating live opportunities to channel inclusive capital into underserved sectors.
Local moves in a global shift
The IIF initiative comes as global momentum builds around gender-lens investing. Nigeria, where 23 million women drive 41% of the country’s micro-businesses, is seen as a critical frontier. Yet access to finance remains the biggest hurdle for female entrepreneurs.
To help narrow that gap, the Bank of Industry (BOI) recently launched Project Guaranteed Loans for Women (GLOW), a N10 billion ($8 million) intervention designed to fund women-owned enterprises across the country. BOI’s Managing Director, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, said the scheme recognises women as “pivotal to Nigeria’s economic growth” but constrained by limited credit access.
A wider backdrop of exclusion
The scale of the challenge is daunting. Despite high levels of female entrepreneurship, women still face systemic barriers to capital, including restrictive collateral requirements, limited access to formal banking services, and cultural biases. Youth and PwDs face similar hurdles, leaving huge segments of the population underserved by traditional finance.
IIF hopes to move Nigeria from fragmented interventions to a coordinated, long-term investment agenda by tying together capital mobilization, policy reform, and accountability. Stakeholders believe the success of this roadmap could reshape the country’s growth trajectory—by ensuring that development is not only about rapid GDP expansion, but about equity, inclusivity, and opportunity for all.