New data from Nigerian fintech Moniepoint reveals that women-led businesses are proving to be the more reliable borrowers in the SME lending space.
According to the company’s 2025 Impact Report, the default rate for loans given to women-owned businesses was 2.5 times lower than for loans to male-owned businesses. The finding comes even as female entrepreneurs continue to face bigger hurdles in accessing formal credit, such as collateral demands and limited credit histories.
The report also highlighted strong growth in lending to this segment. Loan disbursements to women-owned businesses jumped by more than 300% over the year. For many of them, it was a first. 62% of the female business owners surveyed said the Moniepoint facility was the very first formal business loan they had ever accessed.The numbers challenge a long-standing assumption in Nigeria’s financial sector.
Despite being viewed as higher-risk due to structural barriers, women entrepreneurs are demonstrating strong repayment discipline and financial responsibility when given the opportunity.The findings suggest that women-owned SMEs could be one of the most stable and promising segments of Nigeria’s small business lending market. With demand clearly rising, the data points to a case for expanding access to credit for women as a way to drive both inclusion and lower portfolio risk.
