Fund Quest Empowers 100 Women-led Businesses

FundQuest Financial Services Limited has empowered over 100 women-led Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the Fund­HER by FundQuest Conference, an initiative designed to equip female entrepreneurs with busi­ness insights, networking oppor­tunities, and access to funding. The event, held in Lagos is part of FundQuest’s unwaver­ing commitment to fostering economic growth by supporting women entrepreneurs in Nige­ria. Speaking, principal consul­tant, JV Management Consult­ing Limited, Dr.

Jennifer Seidu emphasised the structural bar­riers that female entrepreneurs face, including limited access to capital, market expansion constraints, regulatory hurdles, talent acquisition, and scaling operational efficiency. She highlighted the urgent need for financial institutions to develop tailored solutions that enable women-owned business­es to thrive and gave kudos to FundQuest for stepping in right on time with this initiative. Joan Ediagbonya, Group head, Brand Communication and Customer Experience at FundQuest, reinforced this point, citing research that, while women own 45 per cent of SMEs in Nigeria, only 10 per cent have access to formal funding.



In her presentation titled ‘Em­powering Female Entrepreneurs in Nigeria’, Ediagbonya refer­enced Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, who said: “no country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the po­tential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens”. She went on to showcase success stories of women-led businesses that have received funding, advisory services, and financial support from Fund­Quest. According to her, notably, founder of Dio’s Dlite Greek Yogurt & Treats, Adebimpe Osanyintuyi, leveraged Fund­Quest’s financing to expand her food processing and distribution business.

Olubukola Olaigbe, CEO of Veedic Nigeria Limited, also ac­cessed funding for business ex­pansion, enabling her logistics firm to scale significantly. Speaking on financial dis­cipline, the treasurer at Union Bank, Kehinde Olomojobi, ad­vised attendees to separate per­sonal finances from business finances, embrace structured salaries, register businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and con­sistently reinvest in their en­terprises. She underscored the power of networking, strategic part­nerships, and focusing on com­petitive advantages in specialized market niches.

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