Nigeria Begins Business Grants for 40,000 Katsina Women
NIGERIA · KATSINA · BUSINESS
Key Facts
- •What happened On Sunday, 4 October 2026, Vice President Kashim Shettima opened the payout of business capital to women's savings groups in Katsina State, northwest Nigeria.
- •Who qualifies More than 40,000 women who met the programme's savings and group-performance conditions, according to the vice president.
- •State money Governor Dikko Umaru Radda said Katsina has put in more than NGN 4 billion (about US$3.0 million) and approved another NGN 4 billion (about US$3.0 million) in September.
- •Who else pays The national programme runs on a US$500 million World Bank credit approved on Thursday, 22 June 2023, plus US$40 million from Nigeria's government.
- •Travel warning The US State Department lists Katsina among the Nigerian states where Americans should not travel, citing unrest, crime and kidnapping.
- •Not yet published The size of each grant and how many women were actually paid on Sunday.
Nigeria began paying business capital to women's savings groups in Katsina State on Sunday, 4 October 2026, with more than 40,000 women eligible, under a national programme financed by the World Bank. Vice President Kashim Shettima opened the payout at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium in the state capital, Katsina, and Governor Dikko Umaru Radda said the state has now committed NGN 8 billion (about US$6.0 million) of its own money.
For foreign readers it is a test of whether a US$500 million World Bank credit can turn women's savings groups into working businesses in a part of Nigeria the US government rates too dangerous for Americans to visit.
What Happened in Katsina
The money is called the Community Investment Fund. It is part of the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up, which channels cash to Women Affinity Groups: small groups of women who save together, lend to each other and receive training before they can draw on outside money.
Shettima said the women in Katsina had qualified “after fulfilling the prescribed eligibility conditions and demonstrating satisfactory performance in their savings and group activities.” He told officials that eligibility must remain the “basis of access, without favouritism or political interference.”
Radda was clear that Sunday was a start, not a finish. “Today's flag-off marks the commencement of the disbursement process. It is not the conclusion of the process,” he said. The programme began in the Katsina, Funtua and Daura local government areas, has been extended to six more, and the state wants it in all 34.
Who Is Who
Kashim Shettima is Nigeria's vice president under President Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Borno State and a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party that has held Nigeria's presidency since 2015.
Dikko Umaru Radda is the APC governor of Katsina, a state of 34 local government areas on Nigeria's northern border with the Republic of Niger.
Matthew Verghis is the World Bank's country director for Nigeria, the bank's most senior official in the country.
The Money Behind the Fund
The World Bank approved US$500 million for the scale-up on Thursday, 22 June 2023, as a credit from its International Development Association, the arm that lends to the poorest countries on soft terms. Its appraisal document puts the total cost at US$540 million, including US$40 million from Nigeria's government, with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in charge.
Katsina says it is adding its own money on top. “So far, Katsina State has contributed over four billion Naira for this project and approval last month of another four billion was done by the Executive Council of the state,” Radda said. That is NGN 8 billion (about US$6.0 million) in total. He said the state is “matching every dollar that is given by the World Bank.”
Verghis told the ceremony that Nigerian women already contribute across the economy and that closing gender gaps would require deliberate action, Voice of Nigeria reported. He called on the private sector, community leaders and traditional institutions to back the effort in the state.
When it approved the credit in 2023, the World Bank estimated that closing the gender gap in key economic sectors could bring Nigeria gains of between US$9.3 billion and US$22.9 billion. Its appraisal document sets aside about US$190 million of the project for the Community Investment Fund, the grants now being paid to qualifying groups.
What It Means for You
For investors, the event shows how Abuja wants its economic reforms to be judged at home. “Economic reform must find expression in the earning capacity of citizens,” Shettima said. The World Bank money is a credit, a loan on soft terms that Nigeria must repay, and the political calendar matters too: the country's next general elections are due in 2027.
Naira amounts in this article are converted at NGN 1,327.69 per US dollar, the closing rate on Tuesday, 6 October.
For travellers, the US State Department's Nigeria advisory, issued on Friday, 12 June 2026, rates the country Level 3, “Reconsider travel,” and puts Katsina on its “Do not travel” list because of unrest, crime and kidnapping. It says kidnappings for ransom happen often.
What Is Not Known
Neither the federal government nor Katsina has published the size of each grant, how many of the 40,000 women were paid on Sunday, or how much of the US$500 million has reached Katsina. It is also not public how the state's match is counted, or who will audit the payouts.
Programme-wide figures attributed to Verghis in some Nigerian reports, including the number of states, women and jobs targeted and the savings women have built up, had not been published by the World Bank or the federal government by Wednesday, 7 October.
Reports of the total also differ. Blueprint, a Nigerian daily, put the fund at NGN 8.5 billion (about US$6.4 million) in its headline; the governor's own words, as quoted by several papers, add up to NGN 8 billion (about US$6.0 million) from the state.
What Comes Next
Radda told groups not paid on Sunday to stay patient, saying eligible groups will be considered as they meet the rules, and asked the World Bank for more money to reach all 34 local government areas. The World Bank credit is due to close on 31 December 2028.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Nigeria launch in Katsina?
On Sunday, 4 October 2026, Vice President Kashim Shettima opened payouts from the Community Investment Fund, part of the World Bank-financed Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up, to women's savings groups in Katsina State.
How many women can receive money?
More than 40,000 women in Katsina qualified after meeting savings and group-performance conditions, according to the vice president.
How much is Katsina State paying?
Governor Dikko Umaru Radda said the state has contributed more than NGN 4 billion (about US$3.0 million) and approved another NGN 4 billion (about US$3.0 million), for a total of about US$6.0 million.
Is it safe for Americans to visit Katsina?
The US State Department advises Americans not to travel to Katsina State because of unrest, crime and kidnapping.
Sources: Voice of Nigeria (federal broadcaster), 5 October 2026, World Bank press release, 22 June 2023, World Bank project appraisal document PAD5294 (P179447), World Bank project page P179447, US State Department, Nigeria travel advisory, 12 June 2026, Punch, 5 October 2026, BusinessDay, 4 October 2026, Blueprint, 4 October 2026.
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