WIEG to Host Investment Summit in Lagos to Bridge MSME Funding Gaps, Boost Women-Led Enterprises

The World Integrated Economic Growth Initiative (WIEG) has announced plans to host the WIEG Investment Summit 2026 on February 25–26 in Lagos, positioning the private sector-led platform as a catalyst to unlock structured investment for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives and women-led businesses across Nigeria.

The announcement was made at a pre-summit press briefing in Lagos, where Mr Bassey Effiong, Lead WIEG Representative, outlined the Summit’s objectives, structure and expected outcomes, stressing its alignment with Nigeria’s enterprise development and inclusive growth priorities.

Effiong noted that while successive policies have sought to support MSMEs and cooperatives, persistent constraints continue to limit impact. These include restricted access to structured capital, investment readiness and compliance gaps, fragmented engagement between policymakers, investors and market actors, and weak post-intervention monitoring to measure outcomes.

“The Summit is designed to address these challenges by connecting policy, private capital and growth-ready enterprises in a structured, outcome-driven environment,” he said.

According to the organisers, the WIEG Investment Summit will be a curated forum featuring pre-screened MSMEs, cooperatives, domestic and foreign investors, development finance institutions (DFIs) and development partners.

The programme will combine investment readiness sessions, policy-to-market dialogue, and deal-focused matchmaking, with post-summit tracking and reporting to ensure measurable outcomes.

Importantly, Effiong emphasised that the Summit is non-partisan and places no financial burden on government partners, while remaining aligned with public policy objectives through institutional and advisory participation.

“We are translating policy into tangible market outcomes – capital mobilisation, enterprise growth and job creation,” he said.

Nigeria’s MSMEs are widely regarded as the backbone of the economy. According to data from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), MSMEs account for over 96 per cent of businesses in the country and contribute around 84 per cent of total employment.

Yet access to finance remains a major bottleneck, with the World Bank consistently identifying funding gaps, informality and weak investor confidence as key constraints.

Women-led enterprises are particularly affected. World Bank and IFC estimates indicate that women own about 41 per cent of Nigeria’s MSMEs, but face disproportionate barriers to capital, markets and networks.

The WIEG Summit, organisers say, is designed to address these gaps by strengthening ecosystem coordination and improving investor confidence.

Key national and regional priorities targeted by the Summit include job creation, enterprise growth, women’s economic empowerment, stronger cooperative engagement, and improved policy–market alignment.

WIEG disclosed that it is working in collaboration with relevant institutions, private sector actors and development partners through transparent and structured engagement frameworks.

Government participation, it said, will be strictly institutional and advisory, with full discretion over representation and branding.

The WIEG Nigeria Mandate is the Nigerian operational arm of the World Integrated Economic Growth Initiative (WIEG Group), a global economic development and investment facilitation organisation headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It is registered with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as WIEG Nigeria Mandate Limited (RC: 1797549) and is formally chartered to coordinate WIEG programmes, investments and partnerships in Nigeria.

Globally, the WIEG Group operates as a multi-sector economic growth platform spanning investment facilitation, trade, community development, humanitarian action and sustainable enterprise growth across emerging and frontier markets.

The Group is registered with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also operates under ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 management standards.

Founded by H.R.H. Prof. Dr Amb. Fathulah, WIEG maintains global alliances with thousands of organisations, companies and investors, and focuses on sectors including agribusiness, energy, real estate, ICT, general contracting and trade.

Commitment to Inclusive Growth
WIEG Nigeria Mandate said its vision is to catalyse sustainable economic growth and community transformation by deploying global capital, trade opportunities and development programmes across Nigerian communities.

Its business model blends investment mobilisation, trade facilitation, digital platforms, and public–private partnerships to support enterprise scaling, financial inclusion and foreign direct investment (FDI).

As preparations for the February Summit gather pace, organisers expressed confidence that the platform would provide a structured pathway from policy to capital to enterprise growth, helping to unlock Nigeria’s economic potential “one community, one project, one partnership at a time.”