THUR NOV 12 2026-theGBJournal| Chapel Hill Advisory Partners Limited has launched Nigeria’s first Gender Bond, a ₦7.5 billion five-year fixed-rate issuance designed to channel long-term capital into women-owned and women-led businesses.
The Series 2 bond, issued by Chapel Hill Financing SPV PLC under its ₦250 billion Debt Issuance Programme, marks a significant development in Nigeria’s sustainable finance market, creating a dedicated funding channel for a segment of the economy that has historically struggled to access long-term financing.
Proceeds from the issuance will finance women-owned and women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria SME Limited (SME.NG), the group’s gender-lens SME impact investment platform.
Beneficiary businesses must satisfy SME.NG’s eligibility requirements, the 2X Criteria established by 2X Global, and a financing framework aligned with the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Social Bond Principles.
Bolaji Balogun, chief executive of Chapel Hill, said the issuance would help address a persistent financing gap facing women entrepreneurs while supporting business growth and employment.
“Women-owned businesses create jobs, opportunities and drive growth across Nigeria, yet they find access to longer duration capital hard to find. This bond puts long term capital directly behind them. We are grateful to FSD Africa for its partnership in this landmark transaction.”
FSD Africa, a financial sector development organisation funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), served as Sustainable Finance Adviser to the transaction, providing support towards the successful structuring and issuance of the bond.
Chapel Hill credited the organisation’s partnership and commitment to advancing sustainable finance and deepening Nigeria’s capital markets.
Agusto & Co. provided an independent Second Party Opinion, confirming that both the bond issuance and the underlying portfolio of eligible women-owned and women-led businesses to be financed through SME.NG align with the ICMA Social Bond Principles and Chapel Hill’s broader sustainability strategy.
The independent assessment provides investors with additional assurance on the transparency, integrity and intended social impact of the issuance.
Dr Evans Osano, chief financial markets officer at FSD Africa, said the transaction demonstrated how capital markets could be used to address financing inequalities and expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
“Nigeria’s first gender bond is a milestone for the capital market, showing that investor capital can be directed deliberately to women. Through our technical assistance toolkit, FSD Africa has worked with Chapel Hill to build a credible, independently reviewed structure that links every Naira raised to women-led and women-owned businesses. We hope this offer becomes the template for many more issuers.”
Chapel Hill is one of Nigeria’s leading financial services groups, with regulated subsidiaries operating across investment banking, investment management, sales and trading, pension fund management, non-life and life insurance, takaful, fintech and investments.
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