Nigeria Launches Dual Financial Inclusion Push with N1bn Women's Fund, Pension Agent Licensing
Bank of Industry and MTN Foundation commit N1 billion for women-led enterprises while National Pension Commission licenses first accredited pension agent to expand informal sector coverage.
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Nigeria's financial sector is implementing two parallel initiatives aimed at expanding access to capital and retirement savings, with the Bank of Industry (BOI) and MTN Foundation signing a N1 billion matching fund for women-led enterprises while the National Pension Commission (PenCom) licenses its first accredited pension agent targeting informal sector workers.
The BOI-MTN Foundation memorandum of understanding establishes a structured funding mechanism designed to address the capital constraints facing female entrepreneurs across Nigeria's business landscape. According to Business Day, the partnership creates a matching fund structure that doubles available capital for qualifying women-led enterprises, potentially unlocking N2 billion in total financing when beneficiary contributions are included.
The timing aligns with persistent gender gaps in financial access across sub-Saharan Africa, where women entrepreneurs typically secure 30-40% less capital than male counterparts according to World Bank data. Nigeria's small and medium enterprise sector employs approximately 84% of the workforce, with women comprising a significant portion of informal and micro-enterprise operators who face disproportionate barriers to formal banking relationships and credit facilities.
Pension Agent Model Targets 70 Million Informal Workers
Separately, PenCom's licensing of the first accredited pension agent represents a structural shift in retirement savings access for Nigeria's estimated 70 million informal sector workers. This Day reports that industry observers describe the pension agent framework as "the right tool for achieving mass inclusion of informal sector operators into pension" schemes, addressing a coverage gap that has left the majority of Nigeria's workforce without retirement provisions.
The pension agent model allows licensed intermediaries to register contributors, collect voluntary contributions, and provide pension education in markets, trade associations, and communities where traditional pension fund administrators lack physical presence. This distribution approach mirrors successful agent banking networks that expanded deposit-taking services across Nigeria's rural and peri-urban areas over the past decade.
Nigeria's formal pension system currently covers approximately 9.8 million contributors, predominantly salaried employees in the public and organized private sectors. The Contributory Pension Scheme, mandatory for organizations with five or more employees, excludes the vast majority of traders, artisans, farmers, and micro-entrepreneurs who operate outside formal employment structures.
Convergence of Digital Infrastructure and Policy Reform
Both initiatives leverage Nigeria's expanding digital financial infrastructure, with mobile money accounts reaching 54 million users as of Q4 2025 according to Central Bank of Nigeria data. The MTN Foundation's involvement in SME financing reflects telecommunications companies' growing role in financial services delivery, while pension agents will likely utilize mobile platforms for contribution collection and account management.
The N1 billion women's enterprise fund operates within BOI's broader mandate to provide long-term financing at below-market rates for industrial and commercial ventures. BOI's existing portfolio includes sector-specific intervention funds for agriculture, manufacturing, and creative industries, with the women's fund representing a demographic-focused allocation designed to address documented gender disparities in credit access.
For pension expansion, PenCom's regulatory framework requires agents to meet minimum capital requirements, demonstrate technical capacity, and maintain segregated contribution accounts. The commission has indicated that multiple additional agent licenses are under review, suggesting a phased rollout of the distribution network across Nigeria's 36 states and Federal Capital Territory.
The dual announcements occur as Nigeria's government pursues broader financial inclusion targets under its National Financial Inclusion Strategy, which aims to reduce the financially excluded population from 36% to 20% by 2024—a target that remains unmet based on current penetration rates. Women and informal sector workers represent the two largest excluded demographics, making these initiatives critical to achieving revised inclusion benchmarks.
Implementation challenges include ensuring adequate financial literacy among target beneficiaries, establishing robust monitoring systems to prevent fund diversion, and creating incentive structures that sustain agent networks in low-density markets. The success of both programs will depend on coordination between financial institutions, telecommunications infrastructure providers, and community-level organizations that maintain trust relationships with informal sector participants.