FSD Africa, with funding from the UK Government through the British High Commission in Nigeria, has committed US$335,000 (approximately £247,000) to establish the RiTA Investment Network, a platform designed to increase investment in women-led businesses across Nigeria.

Established by Rising Tide Africa, a pan-African network of women angel investors, the initiative aims to mobilise US$2.7 million (approximately ₦3.75 billion) from Nigerian investors, including high-net-worth individuals, angel investors and family offices. The funds will target 15 small and growing women-led businesses across the country, providing capital to support their expansion.

Nigeria’s small businesses play an important role in the economy, yet many struggle to secure financing for growth. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that these businesses face a financing gap of around ₦13 trillion, with 19 in 20 unable to access formal finance.

Women entrepreneurs face additional challenges. Although women own around 40% of Nigeria’s small businesses, they are rejected for credit at more than three times the rate of men. For many, the obstacle is not their ability to build successful businesses or repay loans, but the lack of assets, including land, that banks traditionally require as collateral.

Announcing the investment, Paul Healey, Head of Green Growth and Private Sector Development at the British High Commission, said the initiative forms part of the UK Government’s wider efforts to improve access to finance for promising small and growing 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.

“Together, we are building stronger connections between women-led businesses and investors, creating opportunities for more businesses to start, grow, and thrive.

“The UK is proud to be part of this partnership, working together with talented entrepreneurs to create jobs and contribute to Nigeria’s economy. By building these connections now, we can open the door to even more investment in women-led businesses in the years ahead.”

Juliet Munro, Director for Early-Stage Finance at FSD Africa, highlighted the network’s potential to mobilise domestic capital and direct it towards priority areas, providing growth financing and creating employment.

“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.” noted Juliet.

The initiative also seeks to address the currency challenges facing businesses that rely on foreign-currency financing. Much of the growth capital available to African businesses is denominated in US dollars, making dollar debt more expensive for companies earning revenue in naira whenever the local currency weakens.

Although Nigeria has substantial private wealth that could finance businesses in local currency, relatively few channels connect domestic investors with smaller enterprises seeking capital. The RiTA Investment Network aims to bridge this gap.

Rising Tide Africa’s members have invested collectively for years and have backed 39 companies to date. The new network will build on that experience by creating a formal investment platform supported by professional credit assessments, an investment committee, an advisory board, and monitoring and reporting systems designed to give investors greater confidence.

Investors will select the businesses they wish to support on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Financing will mainly take the form of revenue-based finance, under which repayments rise or fall in line with a business’s sales. The approach is intended for profitable businesses that lack collateral and prefer not to surrender ownership through equity financing.

Yemi Keri, GP and spokesperson for the RiTA Investment Network, welcomed the funding as a significant boost to the network’s ambition to raise US$10 million in local currency to support women-led enterprises in Nigeria.

“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. FSD Africa’s support lets us build the structure, the discipline and the data to do this at scale,” she said.

FSD Africa’s commitment will cover the cost of establishing the network during its first three years, before it becomes capable of sustaining itself through fees. The funding will support the team, legal structure, governance arrangements and systems required to prepare local capital for investment.

Rising Tide Africa has already secured approximately US$1.5 million in soft commitments from its network. For every dollar provided by FSD Africa, the initiative aims to mobilise around eight dollars in private Nigerian capital.

The partnership follows a year of advisory work between FSD Africa and Rising Tide Africa and forms part of FSD Africa’s broader collaboration with the British High Commission to strengthen early-stage financing in Nigeria.

The network completed its first transaction in September 2026, involving a syndicated corporate note to Ororo Waste Management Limited. Two additional businesses are undergoing structuring and due diligence.

Over the longer term, the investment track record developed through the network is expected to support Rising Tide Africa’s plan to launch a US$10 million, naira-denominated growth debt fund for women-led businesses and attract institutional investors.

The initiative will also produce resources intended to help other first-time fund managers in Nigeria. These include a legal template for investments under the Investments and Securities Act 2025, a guide to revenue-based finance in naira, and credit performance data on women-led businesses.

Together, these resources are intended to demonstrate the investment potential of lending to women-led enterprises at scale and reduce the costs faced by subsequent local fund managers seeking to enter the market.

The RiTA Investment Network forms part of FSD Africa’s Early-Stage Finance strategy, which aims to mobilise diverse sources of African capital for small and growing businesses. Beyond angel investor networks and private wealth, FSD Africa is working with corporations, local fund managers and institutional investors to develop channels connecting domestic capital with businesses that need financing.

Source: momentousng.com