In partnership with The Grooming Centre, a leading microfinance institution dedicated to building a vibrant and high-growth organization poised to play a leading role in enhancing access to financial services for the poor. Women’s World Banking launched a project in June 2024 aimed at enhancing financial access for Women-led Micro and Small Enterprises (W-MSEs) in Nigeria. This initiative combined digital innovation and capacity building, empowering women entrepreneurs by providing business and digital financial training while integrating them onto the SmartBiz digital platform. By improving their business skills and financial management, the initiative sought to bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital tools, facilitating access to credit and fostering business growth.
Our Vision: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs with the Skills They Need
W-MSEs are crucial to local economies, particularly in underserved communities, but they often face significant barriers in accessing formal financial services, especially credit. To address this, the project focused on three main objectives:
- Enhance Digital Financial Capability and Business Skills: We conducted comprehensive, tailored training sessions to women entrepreneurs to improve both financial literacy and digital business skills. These sessions taught participants how to manage cash flow, use digital tools, and make informed decisions for their businesses.
- Increase Digital Financial Inclusion via SmartBiz: As part of the initiative, participants were onboarded onto the SmartBiz platform, developed by The Grooming Center, a digital platform, with the aim of building a financial history and increasing creditworthiness with lenders. This platform simplified loan origination and increased access to financial resources.
- Build a Digital Financial Footprint for Credit Access: By digitizing their financial records via the SmartBiz platform, women could now demonstrate their creditworthiness, opening doors to more formal financial opportunities.
Meet The Participants: Diverse Entrepreneurs with Shared Goals
Through interviews with 20 women entrepreneurs, primarily aged 40-53, we found that most had at least primary or secondary education. Half of these women owned smartphones, while the others relied on basic phones, which limited their access to digital tools. Before the training, participants reported facing significant challenges, including:
- Limited Marketing Reach: Many relied solely on word-of-mouth marketing and faced stiff competition in local markets, leading to reduced sales.
- Poor Financial Management: Most lacked formal systems for tracking finances, managing cash flow, or separating business and personal funds.
- Inventory and Capital Issues: Inventory mismanagement and lack of capital hampered growth.
- Low Digital Confidence: Many were wary of digital tools and preferred cash transactions due to concerns about fraud.
Pre-Training Challenges: “We Didn’t Know What We Were Missing”
Before participating in the initiative, many women faced significant barriers. As one fashion designer from Lagos put it, “We didn’t know what we were missing until the training opened our eyes to new ways of managing money.” These women struggled with financial mismanagement, poor customer outreach, and limited access to capital. The lack of digital knowledge also prevented many from exploring new avenues for growth.
Training: A Transformative Experience
The training sessions, lasting between one and three hours, were concise but impactful. Delivered by Grooming Centre staff, the sessions focused on teaching practical skills like bookkeeping, financial discipline, and digital financial tools. Participants appreciated the use of local languages and real-life examples that made the training more relatable. As one grocery seller shared, “The trainers made everything easy to understand. I liked that they spoke our language and gave real examples.”
After the training, many entrepreneurs noted that they had gained a clearer understanding of managing finances and operating their businesses efficiently. Participants also expressed a desire for refresher courses to reinforce their learning. As one fashion designer from Lagos said, “We didn’t know what we were missing until the training opened our eyes to new ways of managing money.”
Growth in Action: “Now, I Keep Records and Plan Ahead”
The training had an immediate impact on participants’ businesses:
- Improved Loan Readiness: Many entrepreneurs gained a better understanding of recordkeeping, enabling them to track income and expenses effectively and plan for business growth. One participant shared that, thanks to the training, “Now, I keep records and plan ahead. I even hired two people to help with my food business.”
- Financial Discipline: Participants noted that structured savings and reinvestment in their businesses became common practices, leading to better cash flow management.
- Customer Service and Conflict Resolution: The women also developed stronger customer service and debt recovery strategies, enhancing customer loyalty and retention.
Several participants also expanded their businesses by hiring staff to manage increased demand, showing how these improved business practices impacted growth.
The SmartBiz Platform: A Key Enabler with Room for Growth
SmartBiz, a new and innovative cloud-based platform recently launched by The Grooming Centre, was a central part of this initiative. This platform enabled participants to:
- Apply for loans
- Track financial performance
- Monitor loan repayments
While the platform itself was generally well-received, adoption varied. Some women found it easy to use, while others struggled with login issues, navigation, and accessing features due to lower digital literacy or limited smartphone access. As one clothes seller noted, “I liked being able to check my loan balance anytime. But logging in was hard at first.” However, those who successfully engaged with SmartBiz appreciated its benefits, including real-time loan tracking and simplified financial management.
To support broader adoption, participants suggested:
- Peer learning through group-based onboarding
- Video tutorials in key languages, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and English to ensure it is accessible and inclusive for diverse audiences across regions.
- WhatsApp for tips and updates
- A simplified mobile app and USSD features for non-smartphone users
Loan Usage: Driving Business Growth
All participants accessed loans through The Grooming Centre, which was primarily used to restock inventory, expand businesses, or diversify offerings. The loan process was clear and accessible, with minimal documentation required. One entrepreneur shared, “Compared to others, Grooming’s interest is reasonable, and I like that everything is clear from the start.” While the loan disbursement process took time for some, due to Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, the majority of participants found the process straightforward and secure.
The 23-week repayment cycle was considered fair, and the interest rates were seen as more affordable compared to other microfinance institutions, though some participants hoped for even lower rates.
Pilot results
The pilot occurred over a 2-month period between November- December 2024.
Through the pilot we achieved the following:
- 22,078 micro women entrepreneurs trained on business skills/Digital financial capability skills
- 12,313 micro women entrepreneurs onboarded onto the Smartbiz platform.
Building on this success and momentum, we have commenced roll-out across 600 branches within Nigeria and hope to reach even more women entrepreneurs and provide them with the crucial skills and access to credit they need.
Looking Ahead: Scaling the Impact
The pilot demonstrated the powerful synergy between digital innovation and capacity building. However, to truly scale the impact, the following steps are crucial:
- Expand Digital Inclusion: Enhancing mobile access, including unstructured supplementary service data ( USSD) functionality for non-smartphone users, would broaden access to the SmartBiz platform.
- Evolve the SmartBiz Platform: Iterating the platform based on user feedback would improve usability and increase adoption.
- Leverage Group Meetings: Using group meetings to introduce and support SmartBiz would foster peer learning and increase engagement.
- Refresher Courses and Mentorship: Continuous learning through refresher courses and mentorship programs of how to use the platform would sustain and deepen the skills gained.
- Incentivize Timely Loan Repayments: Offering incentives for repeat clients could encourage wider participation and sustained loan repayments.
Building a Stronger Future for Women Entrepreneurs
With the support of The Grooming Centre and Women’s World Banking, this initiative is empowering women to unlock new levels of financial and digital literacy, driving business growth and reshaping futures. It’s a win-win for both Grooming Centre and their customers, while entrepreneurs gain the tools and knowledge to grow, the institution strengthens its relationship with more financially capable clients. These entrepreneurs, equipped with the right tools and knowledge, are not only growing their businesses but also contributing to a more inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystem. As one entrepreneur put it, “Before this, I didn’t even know where my money was going. Now, I feel in control—and my business is growing.”
Our pilot has shown that by combining digital tools with capacity building, we can create lasting change for women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. As we scale the initiative and expand access, we aim to create long-term, sustainable access to credit for W-MSEs across the country. By providing crucial digital and business management skills to women, we are ensuring that women are drivers of economic growth and active participants in their financial futures.
