Women Entrepreneurship & Leadership for Africa has stated that while resilience has driven the growth of women-led businesses in Nigeria, institutional capacity will ultimately determine their long-term survival and expansion.
In a statement on Tuesday, WELA noted that Nigeria has one of the highest rates of female entrepreneurship globally, with women owning between 40 and 50 per cent of small businesses and tens of millions engaged in enterprise. It added that women also constitute a majority of informal traders and a growing share of formal small and medium-scale enterprise founders across sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite these gains, the organisation pointed to a critical challenge confronting women-led businesses, particularly their inability to transition into second-generation enterprises.
According to the statement, this limitation often prevents businesses from evolving beyond the vision of their founders, leading to persistent financial constraints.
WELA emphasised that the issue is not a lack of ambition among female entrepreneurs, but rather insufficient access to tools, knowledge, and supportive systems required for sustainable growth.
“The debate is no longer about the capability of women to establish thriving businesses; they have proven it time and again. The real question centres on whether we will provide them with the essential resources and support to create enduring enterprises,” the statement noted.
Highlighting the impact of structured learning, the organisation cited the experience of Omoyemi Chukwurah, Chief Executive Officer of Seams and Stitches Ltd., who participated in the WELA programme run by the China Europe International Business School.
According to WELA, Chukwurah applied lessons from a module on entrepreneurial accounting and financial governance to commission a forensic audit of a dormant account, resulting in the recovery of N3.8m in previously unrecoverable funds.
It described the development as evidence that combining entrepreneurial instinct with formal management education can significantly improve business outcomes, noting that such entrepreneurs tend to develop clearer capital structures, stronger operational controls, and better risk management systems.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of GOBA Kente and a WELA Accra alumna, Baaba Ankrah, described the programme as transformative, stating that it broadened her understanding of global trade and connected her with networks across China, Europe, and Africa.
WELA said the gap between running a business and building an enterprise remains significant, explaining that while a business generates revenue, an enterprise must also manage risk, attract capital, sustain governance, and enable succession.
The organisation noted that this gap disproportionately affects women in Nigeria, citing a study by the International Finance Corporation which estimated that women-owned SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa face a financing deficit exceeding $42bn annually.
It attributed the shortfall not only to lending bias but also to governance weaknesses and informal business structures, which make many enterprises less attractive to investors despite their growth potential.
“Banks and investors require audited accounts, clearly articulated risk frameworks, and demonstrable succession plans. These are not innate skills but learned ones,” the statement said.
WELA highlighted the role of executive education in bridging this gap, noting that structured programmes are increasingly equipping entrepreneurs with the knowledge required to build scalable and sustainable enterprises.
The Executive Director of CEIBS Africa, Prof Gordon Adomdza, said, “Women entrepreneurs across Africa have proven their resilience and creativity. The next frontier is institutionalisation: building enterprises that are structured, governable, scalable, and able to outlive the founders. That transition requires deliberate leadership development.”
The statement explained that the WELA programme, delivered by CEIBS across Ghana, Nigeria, and China, is designed to provide participants with exposure to global business practices, particularly drawing lessons from China’s rapid industrial and entrepreneurial growth.
It noted that understanding these frameworks gives African entrepreneurs a competitive advantage, especially in the context of growing trade relations between Africa and China.
WELA further stressed that structured leadership development is not intended to replace local knowledge but to strengthen it, enabling entrepreneurs to adapt global best practices to their operating environments.
The organisation maintained that while resilience remains a defining feature of Nigerian entrepreneurs, it is not sufficient for long-term success without the support of strong institutional frameworks.
It added that women entrepreneurs require access to high-quality leadership development opportunities similar to those available in major global business hubs.
“The women building enterprises in Lagos, Abuja, and Accra do not need another celebration. They need access to the same quality of leadership development that their counterparts in Shanghai, London, and New York take for granted,” the statement said.
WELA noted that its programme runs across Accra, Lagos, Abuja, and China, positioning itself as a platform to support the development of sustainable, scalable, and globally competitive African enterprises.
