The United Kingdom Government and FSD Africa have committed $335,000 to establish an investment network aimed at mobilising $2.7m (about N3.6 billion) from Nigerian investors to support women-led businesses across the country.
The investment, funded by the UK Government through the British High Commission in Nigeria, will support the establishment of the RiTA Investment Network by Rising Tide Africa, a women-led, pan-African network of angel investors.
The initiative aims to attract capital from Nigerian high-net-worth individuals, angel investors and family offices to finance 15 small and growing women-led businesses over the next three years.
Speaking on the initiative, Head of Green Growth and Private Sector Development at the British High Commission, Paul Healey, said the partnership was part of the UK Government’s broader support for improving access 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 said.
Healey added that the initiative would strengthen connections between entrepreneurs and investors, creating opportunities for businesses to expand, generate employment and contribute to Nigeria’s economy.
Director for Early-Stage Finance at FSD Africa, Juliet Munro, said the network would help mobilise domestic capital and direct it towards businesses requiring growth 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 said.
The initiative seeks to address financing challenges facing small businesses, particularly those owned by women. According to the International Finance Corporation, Nigerian small businesses face a financing gap of about N13tn, with 19 in 20 unable to access formal finance.
Women own approximately 40 per cent of the country’s small businesses but face credit rejection at more than three times the rate of men.
The network will provide an investment platform supported by professional credit assessment, an investment committee, an advisory board and monitoring systems to help investors make informed financing decisions.
Its financing model will mainly involve revenue-based finance, under which repayments fluctuate with business sales. The approach is intended to support profitable businesses that lack collateral and do not want to surrender ownership to equity investors.
Yemi Keri, general partner and spokesperson for the RiTA Investment Network, said the funding would strengthen its capacity 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 said.
Keri added that FSD Africa’s support would help establish the structures and systems needed to expand the initiative.
Rising Tide Africa has secured about $1.5m in soft commitments from its network, while the platform aims to mobilise approximately eight dollars in Nigerian private capital for every dollar invested by FSD Africa.
The network completed its first transaction in September 2026, involving a syndicated corporate note to Ororo Waste Management Limited, while two other businesses are undergoing structuring and due diligence.
The longer-term ambition is to support the launch of a $10m naira-denominated growth debt fund for women-led businesses.
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