UK backs $335K RiTA network to unlock naira funding for women-led Nigerian businesses
The UK Government commits $335,000 through the British High Commission to launch the RiTA Investment Network, a new platform targeting $2.7 million (about ₦3.75 billion) from Nigerian investors to fund 15 women-led small businesses. Rising Tide Africa, a pan-African network of women angel investors, will establish and operate the platform with FSD Africa covering setup costs for the first three years.
The initiative tackles a brutal financing reality: IFC estimates Nigerian small businesses face a ₦13 trillion funding gap, with 19 in 20 unable to access formal finance. Women entrepreneurs — owning roughly 40% of small businesses — are rejected for credit at more than three times the rate of men, largely because they lack traditional collateral like land.
RiTA's model addresses the currency trap that kills growth: businesses earning in naira but borrowing in dollars get crushed when the naira weakens. The network creates naira-denominated lending with professional credit assessments, an investment committee, advisory board, and monitoring systems to give domestic investors confidence. RiTA members have already backed 39 companies and secured $1.5 million in soft commitments, targeting $10 million in local-currency funding at scale.
With Nigeria's capital market reforms underway and domestic wealth seeking productive channels, the question shifts from whether capital exists to whether structured naira lending can finally reach the women building businesses that banks keep turning away.