They have the experience. They are short of capital.
We surveyed 58 women who sell fresh food at Mile 12, one of Lagos's busiest produce markets. They have traded for years, they save, and they want to grow. Most take home less than ₦10,000 on a good day and have too little working capital to stock their stalls.
An older, experienced workforce carrying large households
Almost nine in ten respondents are 41 or older, and only one in ten is under 40. Most are married or widowed and look after three or more dependents. Few have studied beyond secondary school.
Age
Share of 58 respondents
Only 6 of 58 women are under 40. Without new entrants, the next generation of traders is missing.
Dependents
People each woman supports
49 of 58 women support three or more people from market earnings.
Marital status
Share of respondents
16 women are widowed and are likely the only earner in the household.
Education
Highest level reached
52% have primary schooling or none. Written loan forms and collateral rules can be hard to meet.
Deep knowledge of the market, little formal support
These women know their buyers, their suppliers and the seasons. What they lack are the things that let a stall grow: a loan product that fits an informal trader, training in bookkeeping and pricing, and a permanent place to sell.
Committed sellers, mostly of staple goods
Nearly all respondents (98%) are sellers themselves. Two in three have been at it for more than ten years. Tomato and pepper is the most common perishable, and many also sell provisions, condiments and other goods alongside fresh food.
Years in the market
Share of respondents
What they sell
Multiple answers allowed
Concentration in a few staples, tomato and pepper above all, exposes traders to seasonal price swings and crop failure. "Other" includes provisions, locust beans, salt, groundnut oil, plantain, yam and non-food goods.
Thin margins, and for many, nothing left to reinvest
The largest group sells ₦10,000 to ₦50,000 a day, and 79% sell under ₦50,000. After stock, transport and market tickets, daily profit is mostly ₦10,000 or less. For a third of them, over 75% of that profit goes straight to the household.
Average daily sales
Share of respondents
Average daily profit
After restocking, transport, stall rent and tickets
Daily costs of trading
Transport, market tickets and similar
Share of profit spent on the household
Share of respondents
Spending is split. Nearly half keep most of their profit, while one in three spends over three-quarters of it on family needs.
The top problem is the same for almost everyone: not enough capital to buy stock. Inconsistent income (62%) and high operating costs (48%) follow. A stall that cannot restock fully cannot earn fully.
Financial challenges faced in the past year
Multiple answers allowed, share of respondents
The saving habit is there. Formal credit is not.
Six in ten women save, and some have done so for up to 30 years. But the amounts are small, and almost no one borrows on a regular basis.
Do you have savings?
Share of respondents
Among the 33 women who gave an amount, more than half save ₦2,000 or less at a time. The top figure is ₦20,000. That is enough to cope with a slow day but not to expand.
Access to credit or loans
Share of respondents
Only 1 woman in 58 borrows regularly. Over half neither have nor want credit, which may mean loans on the usual terms do not feel safe to them.
Clear goals, and a clear list of what would help
The women are specific. They want to sell more, carry more products and move into a permanent stall. The support they ask for most is a grant, followed by loans and cooperative backing.
Goals for the business
Multiple answers allowed
Support that would help most
Multiple answers allowed
Grants top the list at 71%. Alongside the credit findings, this points to a preference for capital that does not come as debt.
How much would it take to expand?
Capital each woman says she needs, number of women (58 answers)
The most common request, and the middle of all answers, is ₦500,000. 41 of 58 women (71%) ask for ₦1 million or less. At ₦5,000–₦10,000 of profit a day, ₦500,000 is 50 to 100 days of profit, before any household spending.
What the women wrote in the survey
Written comments, quoted as recorded.
Credit facilities for expansion would be highly appreciated.
Survey comment
The management of Mile 12 should support us with loan.
Survey comment
Government should empower us, things are too expensive.
Survey comment
To have a permanent shop and promote the sales.
Survey comment
The trailer is always blocking us from getting customers.
Survey comment
I was robbed. They broke into my shop, otherwise I would have left the market to a bigger place.
Survey comment, financial challenges
Investing in these women is a practical way to strengthen Mile 12
The survey shows traders who are experienced, who save, who know what they need and who ask for modest amounts. What is missing is capital, training and a market built to support them. Supplying those is a practical, bounded task.
The track record is there
Two in three have traded for over ten years and 98% sell for themselves. Funds would go to people who already run viable stalls and know the market.
The need is specific
74% name too little capital for stock as their top problem, and 84% earn under ₦10,000 profit a day. The shortfall is working capital, not skill or effort.
The ask is modest
The typical request is ₦500,000. Meeting it for all 58 respondents would cost about ₦29 million. Even the full stated need comes to roughly ₦85 million.
The returns reach beyond the stall. Most traders support three or more people, 16 are widows, and the market supplies Lagos with fresh food. If younger women do not join, the workforce will not be replaced. A woman who can restock fully, hold a small reserve and sell from a permanent stall earns more steadily.
What we recommend
Financial inclusion
Low-interest, collateral-free microloans and grants, plus mobile savings and digital tools through local agents or cooperatives.
Evidence: capital shortfall (74%), grants (71%)Literacy and training
Workshops on budgeting, credit, inventory control and pricing, paired with market-based mentoring.
Evidence: 52% primary schooling or noneCooperative models
Women's cooperatives for shared credit, bulk buying and group loan guarantees that lower each woman's risk.
Evidence: cooperative support (38%)Infrastructure and policy
Better stalls, storage and hygiene facilities, credit desks in the market, and policy recognition of women's right to stalls and funding.
Evidence: permanent shop (69%)Government and NGO partnerships
Development partners to fund training, grants and market improvements.
Evidence: "government should empower us"Youth engagement
Entrepreneurship programmes that bring younger women into the market and pass on knowledge.
Evidence: only 10% under 40Next steps with Mile 12 management
When we invest in the women who sell at Mile 12, we invest in household incomes, food supply and the stability of the whole community.