The Ogun State Government has commenced the disbursement of a ₦6 billion Community Investment Fund (CIF) 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 aimed at strengthening women-led businesses, improving household incomes and expanding economic opportunities for women across the state.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Ijebu-Ode, Governor Dapo Abiodun, represented by the immediate past Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Motunrayo Adijat Adeleye, said the initiative was designed to help women move from subsistence economic activities to sustainable enterprises.
According to him, the beneficiaries had demonstrated their preparedness for the intervention through regular participation in the programme, savings, internal lending, bank account operations and the preparation of Micro-Investment Plans.
Abiodun disclosed that the women groups had collectively saved ₦2.6 billion within seven months, while loans accessed through the groups had exceeded ₦4 billion.
He said the figures demonstrated the financial discipline and collective responsibility developed by the beneficiaries under the programme.
The governor explained that the ₦6 billion Community Investment Fund was not an outright grant, but a revolving financing facility intended to provide capital for women to establish and expand businesses, create employment and improve the welfare of their households.
He said the initiative was an expansion of the Nigeria for Women Project, which commenced in Ogun State in December 2020 following an agreement between the World Bank and the Federal Government in 2018.
Abiodun said 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.
He added that 368 Ward Facilitators were trained and deployed, while 67,094 women received individual grants in April 2022.
According to him, the Scale-Up phase has expanded to seven local government areas, namely Ifo, Ado-Odo/Ota, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Abeokuta North, Ipokia and Remo North.
He said 5,394 Women Affinity Groups had so far been formed under the Scale-Up programme, reaching 124,062 women as of September 21, 2026.
The governor further disclosed that the programme had covered 3,489 communities, with 664 trained Ward Facilitators deployed across the participating areas.
He said about 26 states had visited Ogun to study the state’s implementation model, adding that the World Bank had also adopted Ogun as a training hub for the programme.
Abiodun said the Women Affinity Groups model was not limited to access to finance, but also provided beneficiaries with financial literacy, savings and responsible borrowing skills, business and entrepreneurial training, gender awareness and life skills.
He added that the programme also created opportunities for beneficiaries to access health insurance, climate adaptation initiatives, strategic partnerships and National Identification Number enrolment.
The governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to providing the policy support and institutional collaboration required to sustain the programme.
He commended the World Bank, Federal Project Coordinating Unit and other stakeholders for their contributions to the initiative, while congratulating the women reached through the Scale-Up phase.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by her Special Assistant on Technical Management, Princess Jummaih Idonije, described the programme as a strategic economic intervention consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government.
She said expanding women’s access to economic opportunities was important to achieving inclusive national development.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim commended Ogun State for its leadership in implementing the programme and urged the beneficiaries to serve as good examples to other Women Affinity Groups across the participating local government areas.
The World Bank Task Team Manager, Michael Ilesanmi, said the intervention was helping to address financial access challenges faced by women while strengthening their capacity to withstand economic pressures.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Finance and Chief Economic Adviser to the Governor and Chairman of the Multi-Sectoral Committee of the NFWP-SU, Dapo Okubadejo, said the programme demonstrated the importance of investing deliberately in women.
Okubadejo, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Adebimpe Obienu, noted that women played important roles as traders, farmers, processors, artisans, entrepreneurs and community builders.
He commended the World Bank, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, community leaders and other stakeholders for their contributions to the implementation and acceptance of the programme.
Some beneficiaries, including Oyesanya Omotoke of Irede WAG in Sagamu, Ayomide Ogunleye of Ifeoluwa WAG in Ijebu-Ode and Adesola Teriba, Chairperson of Success WAG in Abeokuta North, expressed appreciation for the intervention.
They said the fund would enable them to strengthen their businesses and improve their livelihoods, while commending the WAG model for promoting savings, internal lending, financial discipline and collective responsibility.
The beneficiaries pledged to deploy the funds to productive economic activities, maintain the culture of savings and accountability and ensure that the intervention translates into stronger businesses and improved household incomes.
The government also encouraged women participating in the WAG programme and those yet to join to take advantage of the opportunities available, particularly in financial literacy, savings, responsible borrowing and proper record keeping.
