During a series of grassroots engagements in October, Access Bank, through the W Initiative, empowered a number of women-owned Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Surulere, Lagos.
The W Initiative is dedicated to instilling hope, connecting people, and empowering women. Access Bank and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) launched an N2 billion Matching Fund loan scheme in 2019 to help women-owned businesses in Lagos State.
This loan scheme provides loans ranging from N50,000 to N5 million to Startups, Micro Enterprises, and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.
In order to raise awareness and bridge the information gap, The Access Bank’s W Initiative and the LSETF teams embarked on a series of grassroots engagement sessions in October to educate businesswomen in Lagos about the availability of the facility, as well as the processes and requirements involved.
While opening the session, The Group Head of the W Initiative, Abiodun Olubitan, said that ‘women are a driving force in the Nigerian economy, but their access to finance is far too small. Therefore, Access Bank partnered with LSETF to bridge the gap. This initiative will increase the contributions of women-owned businesses to the Nigerian economy and can have a significant development impact.