By Benson Daniel
Female entrepreneurs are recording significantly lower loan default rates than their male counterparts, highlighting the growing creditworthiness of women owned businesses and the potential for greater financial inclusion in Nigeria, according to findings from Moniepoint’s 2025 Impact Report.
The report found that women owned businesses recorded default rates 2.5 times lower than those of male borrowers, despite women continuing to face challenges in accessing formal business financing.
The findings point to a potentially important shift in how lenders assess risk within the micro, small and medium enterprise sector. Strong repayment performance among female entrepreneurs could encourage financial institutions and other lenders to expand credit facilities targeted at women owned businesses.
Moniepoint reported that loans extended to women owned businesses increased by more than 300 per cent in 2025, pushing the share of its total credit disbursement going to female owned businesses to 36 per cent. This is significantly higher than the traditional industry allocation of between 16 and 25 per cent.
The report also showed that formal credit remains relatively new for many female business owners. About 62 per cent of surveyed female entrepreneurs received their first formal business loan through the platform, while three quarters of merchants who obtained credit across the institution’s network were first time formal borrowers.
The development underscores the importance of expanding access to affordable financing for small businesses, particularly as entrepreneurs face increasing costs for inventory, transportation, energy and other business operations.
Access to credit can allow business owners to increase their stock, acquire equipment, expand operations, employ additional workers and take advantage of new market opportunities.
Moniepoint said more than $700 million in credit was disbursed to MSMEs during 2025. Businesses that received financing recorded an average 36 per cent increase in transaction value, while 86 per cent of surveyed merchants reported higher earnings and 88 per cent said their businesses expanded after receiving funding.
The impact also extended to employment. Businesses supported through the financing programme employed more than eight million people during the year, while 27 per cent of surveyed merchants said they increased their workforce after receiving funding.
For Nigeria, greater access to finance for women entrepreneurs could have wider economic implications because women operate businesses across retail, agriculture, manufacturing, services and other sectors.
Improved access to formal credit could also help more women move from small scale operations into larger enterprises capable of creating jobs and contributing significantly to economic activity.
The lower default rate among female borrowers could provide lenders with additional evidence that women owned businesses represent a viable and potentially lower risk segment of the MSME credit market.
However, stakeholders say access to finance must be accompanied by appropriate financial products, business development support and favourable conditions that allow entrepreneurs to grow sustainably.
The findings also highlight the need for lenders to use reliable business data when assessing borrowers rather than relying solely on traditional assumptions about credit risk.
As Nigeria continues to promote financial inclusion and expand credit to small businesses, the stronger repayment performance recorded among female entrepreneurs could encourage greater investment in women led enterprises.
For female business owners, increased access to financing could provide the capital needed to expand operations, strengthen cash flow and build more resilient businesses.
The latest findings therefore suggest that supporting women entrepreneurs is not only a financial inclusion objective but could also represent a commercially attractive opportunity for lenders seeking sustainable growth within Nigeria’s MSME sector.
Leave a comment