Airtel Africa Foundation is advancing its gender inclusion and enterprise support efforts through the “Empower Her” initiative, targeting women operating within Nigeria’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) segment.
Delivered locally by Airtel Nigeria, the first phase of the programme has been implemented across Lagos, Oyo, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory, reaching nearly 2,000 women.The initiative is positioned against the backdrop of Nigeria’s largely informal SME ecosystem.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the informal sector contributes significantly to gross domestic product and employs a large share of the country’s workforce.
Rising inflation and increasing input costs have, however, intensified pressure on small businesses, narrowing margins and raising the cost of operational inefficiencies. For many operators, business sustainability now depends on improved financial management, including cost tracking, inventory control and capital preservation.Women remain central to this segment, particularly across retail, food processing and agriculture, but continue to face limited access to structured financial systems.
The “Empower Her” programme seeks to address this gap by combining financial literacy with practical onboarding into digital financial tools.Participants are trained in budgeting, pricing, savings and basic financial planning, alongside access to mobile wallets and agent banking platforms.
The programme also provides selected beneficiaries with micro-grants and point-of-sale devices to support real-time application of these practices.Chairman of the Airtel Africa Foundation, Segun Ogunsanya, described the initiative as an economic intervention aimed at strengthening business sustainability and extending impact beyond individual enterprises.
The programme is implemented in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and Smartcash Payment Service Bank, reflecting a broader shift towards integrated development models that combine training, financial access and infrastructure.
This approach aligns with wider trends across Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, where operators are expanding into financial services to capture the intersection between connectivity and payments. It also complements government-led financial inclusion efforts such as the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.
While programmes of this nature remain limited in scale relative to the size of Nigeria’s informal economy, their impact lies in the behavioural changes they seek to drive. Sustained outcomes will depend on broader replication, policy alignment and structural reforms addressing access to credit and market constraints.
