First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has partnered with Alitheia Capital for the 2026 W.O.M.A.N. Conference, aimed at helping women-led businesses overcome barriers to finance, investment and market access.
The two-day conference, scheduled for September 10 and 11 in Lagos, will bring together about 300 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) operating across manufacturing, agribusiness, nutrition and related sectors.
Convened by Alitheia Capital, the conference will connect participating entrepreneurs with financial institutions, investors, policymakers, development organisations and business leaders, creating opportunities for knowledge sharing, partnerships and access to funding.
FCMB is supporting the event as its exclusive banking partner through SheVentures, the bank’s proposition for women-owned businesses.
The conference will feature expert discussions, practical learning sessions and engagements focused on financing, investment and market access. Participants will also explore key issues including governance, financial management, climate resilience, green manufacturing and energy transition.
Nnenna Jacob-Ogogo, Group Head of Gender and Impact Sectors at FCMB, and Oluremi Agboola, Head of SME Asset Products at FCMB, will speak at the conference, providing practical guidance on preparing businesses for finance and identifying funding options suited to different stages of growth.
Jacob-Ogogo said women entrepreneurs are building businesses that create jobs, strengthen communities and contribute significantly to Nigeria’s productive economy.
She said the partnership was designed to help more women develop the structures, knowledge and connections required to transform viable enterprises into scalable businesses.
Agboola said the conference would help bridge the gap between entrepreneurs seeking finance and financial institutions searching for viable businesses to support.
She stressed that access to finance begins with readiness, noting that businesses with reliable records, sound financial management and clear growth plans are better positioned to secure funding.
Beyond the conference, the 2026 W.O.M.A.N. programme will feature cohort sessions across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, investment-readiness and access-to-finance pathways, as well as digital capacity building through Alitheia Capital’s Nzinga learning platform.
The programme is designed to build a pipeline of women-led enterprises ready for debt, equity and blended-finance solutions, while supporting Nigeria’s priorities on industrialisation, MSME growth, job creation, energy transition and women’s economic participation.
Managing Partner of Alitheia Capital, Tokunboh Ishmael, said the programme was created to address the structural barriers preventing women entrepreneurs from turning existing business potential into sustainable growth.
According to Ishmael, the participating businesses already have revenues, customers and clear growth ambitions, but access remains a major constraint.
She said, “The constraint is not ambition — it is access. W.O.M.A.N. 2026 is built to close that gap directly.”
The programme is being delivered in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BOI), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), alongside other private-sector and development partners.
The partnership between FCMB and Alitheia Capital therefore places finance, investment readiness and market access at the centre of efforts to help more women-led businesses move from survival and viability to sustainable growth and scale.