For Nigerian startups, it is no secret that money moves differently for men and women in Nigeria’s startup scene. Everybody talks about innovation, disruption, and “the next big thing,” but when the cheques are being signed, the scales tilt heavily to one side. The energy in the ecosystem feels inclusive on the surface, but when the numbers start to roll in, it becomes clear that opportunity is not shared equally.
Across Africa, women-led startups raised around 48 million dollars in 2024. Sounds decent until you see what male founders pulled in, US$2.2 billion. The gap is not a crack; it is a canyon. Women got roughly one percent of all venture capital funding, while men walked away with more than 95 percent. Even mixed-gender teams, often considered a balance between both worlds, accounted for only about five percent of total funding.
In Nigeria, the numbers are not much kinder. Between 2019 and 2023, only about 10 percent of funded Nigerian startups were led by women, and those companies together raised just 0.7 percent of total deal value, roughly $600 million in five years. For a country that loves to call itself the heart of African innovation, that is quite an embarrassment.
Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt are teeming with brilliant women building products that solve real problems, yet their access to capital rarely matches their ambition. Founders like Odunayo Eweniyi of PiggyVest and Damilola Olokesusi of Shuttlers are proof that women are building scalable, tech-driven businesses that attract users, revenue, and investor attention. Their success stories show what is possible when women get the right support, but they remain exceptions rather than the norm in an ecosystem still tilted toward men.
What keeps women out of the money room
But numbers only tell half the story. Many women founders are building in sectors like health tech, edtech, and agriculture, which are important but do not attract the same kind of big-ticket investments as fintech or logistics, where men tend to dominate. The irony is that these “softer” sectors often address social issues that directly affect communities, yet they are considered less scalable or less profitable by most investors.
Also Read: Nigeria leads Africa in startup funding (H1 2025)
Then there is the quiet network game. Investor circles are still mostly male, and access often depends on who can pick up the phone and call the right person. A founder may have the right product, traction, and team, but without connections, getting a meeting with the right investor can feel like climbing a wall.
Some female founders in the Nigerian startups ecosystem say it is not just about access but about perception. Investors see them as a “riskier bet”. Others say bias hides behind words like “traction” or “scalability”, polite ways of saying “we are not sure you can handle it”. It is a subtle but powerful barrier that shapes the fate of many promising women-led startups.
Still, the tide is shifting, slowly but surely. Funds like FirstCheck Africa, Alitheia Capital, and Rising Tide Africa are backing more women-led ventures and creating safer spaces for women to pitch without being underestimated. Mentorship communities such as She Leads Africa, HerVest, and Future Females are helping women sharpen their business models, find investors, and build leverage. More female angels and venture partners are also beginning to emerge, creating a more balanced ecosystem.
Closing the gap of Nigerian startups will take more than good intentions or one-off funding rounds. It requires intentional inclusion, putting women in the rooms where funding decisions are made, designing funds that look beyond short-term profit, and rethinking what a “safe bet” really looks like.
Because if half the country’s talent keeps getting underfunded, then Nigeria’s startup dream will never be as big, bold, or inclusive as it deserves to be.
