Chapel Hill lists Nigeria's first gender bond at $5.57M

What's the deal? Chapel Hill DenhamDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has issued Nigeria's first gender bond, a 7,500,000,000 NGN (about $5.57 million) five-year fixed-rate debt instrument to finance women-owned and women-led businesses. FSD AfricaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (Financial Sector Deepening Africa) backed the deal as sustainable finance adviser. The round was announced in November 2026.

How it works: The Series 2 bond was issued by Chapel Hill Financing SPV Plc under a 250,000,000,000 NGN debt issuance programme. Net proceeds will fund women-owned SMEs and MSMEs through SME.NG, Chapel Hill's gender-lens impact platform. Every borrower must meet SME.NG's rules, the 2X Criteria set by 2X Global, and the International Capital Market Association's Social Bond Principles.

Why it matters: The bond opens a new channel of long-term capital to a historically underserved segment. "Women-owned businesses create jobs, opportunities and drive growth across Nigeria, yet they find access to longer-duration capital hard to find," said chief executive officer Bolaji Balogun. "This bond puts long-term capital directly behind them."

The checks: Agusto & Co.Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → provided an independent second party opinion, certifying that both the issuance and the portfolio of eligible businesses align with the Social Bond Principles. The assessment gives investors assurance on the transparency and impact credentials of the offering.

The signal: The gender bond adds a new labelled instrument to Nigeria's sustainable-finance market, where activity has largely centred on green bonds. "We have worked with Chapel Hill to build a credible, independently reviewed structure that links every Naira raised to women-led and women-owned businesses," said Evans Osano, chief financial markets officer at FSD Africa. "We hope this offer becomes the template for many more issuers."

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