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Flourish Africa, a women-focused initiative founded by Folorunsho Alakija, has rolled out 300 million naira ($215,000) in grants to support female entrepreneurs across Nigeria, awarding 3 million naira ($2,150) each to 100 small businesses chosen after a national training and competition process, according to the organization.
The grants were announced at Flourish Africa’s ninth annual conference, themed She Champions, which drew entrepreneurs, regulators, development partners and private sector executives. Organizers described the event as part celebration, part stress test, aimed at pushing founders beyond passion into planning.
Flourish Africa said 506 women went through intensive business training. From that group, 409 submitted business plans, 200 advanced to pitch sessions, and an independent panel selected 100 winners. Alakija said the narrow funnel was intentional, arguing that money without preparation can drown a young business as quickly as it can lift it.
She said the program was designed to reward merit and demand accountability, with participants pushed to defend their numbers and explain how they would track spending. The foundation said judges saw clearer business models and stronger market arguments than in previous cohorts, but still flagged weak bookkeeping and patchy financial literacy. Alakija, a Nigerian businesswoman and philanthropist best known for her work in fashion and oil and gas, framed the grants as a bet on women who already keep Nigeria’s small business economy moving. Capital, she said, must come with structure if a venture is to survive Nigeria’s hard terrain and grow into an employer.
Nigeria is often cited as one of the world’s hotspots for female entrepreneurship, yet many women run enterprises outside the formal banking system, relying on personal savings, family loans and rotating credit groups. That leaves promising businesses stranded when they need inventory, equipment or staff, and it can make expansion feel like gambling.
Organizers said the latest cohort included businesses in manufacturing, agribusiness, food processing, fashion, beauty and services. Several participants described using the training to untangle pricing, record keeping and customer targeting, basics that can decide whether a business lasts beyond the first burst of sales.
Flourish Africa said its approach blends funding with governance lessons, encouraging beneficiaries to keep proper books, separate personal and business finances, and build systems that can satisfy lenders and investors. Supporters say that kind of preparation matters in a country where credit is expensive, power is unreliable and inflation squeezes households.
Economic pressure on small firms remains intense, but the foundation argues that backing women owned enterprises has a ripple effect. When women’s businesses hold steady, families tend to eat better, children stay in school longer and communities gain jobs that are rooted locally.
