The Ogun State Government has commenced the disbursement of a ₦6 billion Community Investment Fund to 3,855 Women Affinity Groups (WAGs) across four local government areas under the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU).
The intervention, implemented in partnership with the Federal Government and the World Bank, is designed to help women expand businesses, strengthen household incomes and increase their participation in economic activities.
The fund was unveiled at a flag-off ceremony in Ijebu-Ode, where Governor Dapo Abiodun, represented by the immediate past Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Motunrayo Adijat Adeleye, said the initiative was intended to help women move from subsistence activities to sustainable enterprises.
“Today, we gather not merely to mark the disbursement of a fund, but to celebrate another important step in our deliberate journey of empowering women, strengthening families and expanding opportunities for sustainable livelihoods,” Abiodun said.
The governor disclosed that participating women had collectively saved ₦2.6 billion in the previous seven months, while loans obtained through the groups had exceeded ₦4 billion.
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He said the figures reflected the financial discipline developed through the programme, including regular savings, internal lending and collective accountability.
Importantly, Abiodun clarified that the ₦6 billion Community Investment Fund is not an outright grant. It is a revolving financing facility intended to provide capital for establishing and expanding businesses, creating income and employment, and improving household welfare.
The distinction means beneficiaries are participating in a structured financing system rather than receiving unrestricted personal payments. The Women Affinity Groups are expected to operate with savings, responsible borrowing, financial records and Micro-Investment Plans that guide the use of the funds.
Abiodun said beneficiary groups had satisfied key programme conditions, including regular participation, savings and internal lending, opening bank accounts and preparing their investment plans.
The latest intervention builds on the Nigeria for Women Project, which began implementation in Ogun in December 2020 after an agreement between the World Bank and the Federal Government in 2018.
According to the governor, the parent project established 3,792 Women Affinity Groups across 1,003 communities in Odeda, Ikenne, Ijebu North-East and Yewa North local government areas. It also trained and deployed 368 Ward Facilitators, while 67,094 women received individual grants in April 2022.
The Scale-Up phase has since expanded the programme to seven local government areas: Ifo, Ado-Odo/Ota, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Abeokuta North, Ipokia and Remo North.
Abiodun said 5,394 Women Affinity Groups had been formed under the Scale-Up programme, reaching 124,062 women as of September 21, 2026. The initiative has also covered 3,489 communities and trained 664 Ward Facilitators.
The governor added that about 26 states had visited Ogun to study its implementation model, while the World Bank had adopted the state as a training hub for the programme.
Beyond financing, the WAG model provides training in financial literacy, savings, responsible borrowing, entrepreneurship, gender awareness and life skills. Beneficiaries are also linked to opportunities involving health insurance, climate adaptation, strategic partnerships and National Identification Number enrolment.
“In other words, the programme is building not only businesses, but knowledgeable, financially disciplined and economically resilient women,” Abiodun said.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by her Special Assistant on Technical Management, Princess Jummaih Idonije, described the intervention as a strategic economic measure aimed at expanding opportunities for women.
She commended Ogun State for its implementation of the programme and called on beneficiaries to serve as examples to other Women Affinity Groups.
World Bank Task Team Manager, Michael Ilesanmi, said the programme was helping to address financial access gaps while strengthening women’s ability to cope with economic pressures.
The Commissioner for Finance and Chief Economic Adviser to the governor, Dapo Okubadejo, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Adebimpe Obienu, also highlighted the economic role of women as traders, farmers, processors, artisans, entrepreneurs and community builders.
Some beneficiaries, including Oyesanya Omotoke of Irede WAG in Sagamu, Ayomide Ogunleye of Ifeoluwa WAG in Ijebu-Ode and Adesola Teriba of Success WAG in Abeokuta North, said the financing would help strengthen their businesses and improve their livelihoods.
The beneficiaries also pledged to apply the funds to productive ventures while sustaining the savings and accountability practices promoted through the programme.
With 124,062 women already reached under the Scale-Up phase, the Ogun intervention represents a sizeable expansion of a financing model that combines access to capital with savings, enterprise training and group-based financial responsibility.
