Nigeria's BOI Disburses $6.02m to Women-owned Businesses

The Bank of Industry (BOI) has stated that it has given out $6.02 million of the $10 million to Alitheia Fund. The decision aligns with the financial institutions aim to support gender equality and women’s financial inclusion.

The statement was made by Olasupo Olusi, Managing Director, BOI while speaking at a Women’s Day event held this weekend.

He also highlighted that the Alitheia Fund which is represented by Executive Director of the Micro Enterprise Directorate, BOI, Mabel Ndagi, is a unique $100 million gender-lens fund which aims to invests in companies that are either women-owned, women-led or women-servicing.

Olasupo also said “This is a $14.27 million initiative that was designed to support women-owned businesses, particularly those living in economically disadvantaged areas arising from conflicts and social unrest. As of February 2024, the bank had disbursed the sum of N5.9 billion to 551 beneficiaries.”

“We are currently working with the African Development Bank (AfDB) on its AFAWA initiative, a Pan-African initiative to bridge the $42 billion financing gap women in Africa face,” he said.

Olasupi also mentioned that BOI has recognised gender funding as one of the bank’s primary areas of focus.

He went on to talk about the bank’s support for women entrepreneurs being aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to promoting social inclusion, women’s empowerment, and economic support for disadvantaged women and mothers.

Speaking at the event Omoyemi Akerele, Founder, Lagos Fashion Week, highlighted the need to promote sustainability models in the textile industry to help amplify women empowerment.