Sterling Bank’s OneWoman Initiative Hosts Funding Her Future Breakfast Dialogue

Sterling Bank’s OneWoman Initiative Hosts Funding Her Future Breakfast Dialogue
By prince Benson Davies

Sterling Bank has deepened its commitment to women entrepreneurs through its OneWoman initiative, convening a gathering of stakeholders at the Funding Her Future Breakfast Dialogue in Lagos. The event focused on unlocking inclusive financing pathways for women-led businesses, exploring how financing, business readiness, and ecosystem support can drive growth and resilience.

Speaking at the event, Sterling Bank’s Managing Director, Abubakar Suleiman, emphasized the need to turn shared beliefs into action, highlighting the bank’s long-standing conviction in backing people, ideas, and sectors with strong potential. The OneWoman initiative supports women through three key pillars: capital, capacity, and community, providing financial solutions, mentorship, and capacity building.

Suleiman explained that the dialogue aimed to address the financing gap facing women-led businesses, which remains a significant challenge in Nigeria. He noted that women account for a substantial share of micro, small, and medium enterprises, contributing meaningfully to the economy, yet face a financing gap estimated at 42 billion dollars (USD) annually, according to the International Finance Corporation.

Ezinne Nwokafor, Head of OneWoman, highlighted the urgent need to address the financing gap, citing data showing that more than half of women-led businesses identify access to finance as a major constraint, while rejection rates for loan applications remain significantly higher for women than for men. She emphasized that the OneWoman initiative is positioned to bridge this gap, combining financial solutions, mentorship, capacity building, and community support for women across different stages of their journey.

The event featured two panel sessions with representatives from funding institutions, women-focused organisations, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem partners, providing practical insights into financing opportunities available to women and the broader support systems required for sustainable growth.

Akporee Idenedo, Divisional Head of Commercial Banking, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to addressing the concerns raised during the dialogue, stressing that building skills and strengthening capacity will remain essential to creating a sustainable ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.

Sterling Bank’s OneWoman initiative has given out N43.9 billion loans to 2,450 female entrepreneurs, trained 6,000, and served 380,000 women across three sectors: career women, women in business, and freshers. The bank’s vision for 2030 is to give out N500 billion loans to one million women, driving economic progress and sustainable growth.

The Funding Her Future Breakfast Dialogue forms part of Sterling Bank’s broader effort to deepen its support for women through targeted financing, enterprise development, and community-driven growth. Through OneWoman, the bank continues to build platforms and solutions that empower women to grow sustainable businesses, create jobs, and contribute more meaningfully to economic progress.

Caption:

From L-R: Akporee Idenedo, Divisional Head, Commercial Banking, Sterling Bank; Ezinne Nwokafor, Head, OneWoman Initiative, Sterling Bank; Thelma Luke Nwoye, Group Head, Business Finance, Sterling Bank; ‘Solape Akinpelu, CEO/Founder , HerVest; Edward Ogunmekan, Chief Growth Officer, Sterling Bank at the OneWoman Gender Lens Breakfast Dialogue held at The Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi recently.