In a landmark partnership, the Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN) and MoMo Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB) have initiated a nationwide mobilization aimed at empowering 25 million entrepreneurs, leveraging a massive summit to fuse grassroots economic resilience with digital financial tools.
The 2025 National Entrepreneurship Summit and Exhibition (NESE), themed “Empowering Entrepreneurs, Transforming Communities,” is positioned as more than an event; it is the launchpad for a systemic intervention designed to integrate Nigeria’s vast informal business sector into the digital economy.
Princess Adesola Ogunleye, National President of COWAN, framed the initiative as the culmination of the association’s 43-year legacy of empowering women. “This summit celebrates Nigerian enterprise, but its purpose is transformational,” she stated. “With MoMo PSB, we are asserting that digital innovation and entrepreneurship are the twin pillars for building inclusive prosperity.”
The partnership represents a strategic alignment of COWAN’s deep, trusted networks within both rural and urban communities and MoMo PSB’s mission to provide accessible financial services. A representative for the digital bank emphasized that supporting micro and small businesses with digital tools is fundamental to driving national growth. “Empowering one entrepreneur can transform an entire community,” the representative stated, highlighting the partnership’s core belief.
The three-day summit in Lagos will function as a comprehensive ecosystem builder, featuring keynote sessions, training workshops, and investment pitches. Its core objective is to create direct pathways for participants to access finance, markets, and essential mentorship.
By connecting COWAN’s extensive grassroots footprint with MoMo PSB’s digital payment infrastructure, the initiative aims to systematically address the barriers facing Nigeria’s small business owners. The organizers envision it as a springboard for durable partnerships that will advance financial literacy, digital inclusion, and sustainable business growth for millions, fundamentally altering the landscape of Nigerian entrepreneurship.
