Nigeria’s billion-dollar real estate industry has long been perceived as an exclusive male preserve. From land acquisition to construction and boardroom leadership, men have traditionally controlled access, decisions and profits.
Property ownership, often a key source of wealth and long-term security, remains largely out of reach for most women. Compared with 40.5% of men, only about 10.75% of Nigerian women own housing, either solely or jointly, according to a 2018 World Bank report.
A 2022 study by Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) further found that women hold just 9% of C-suite positions in Nigeria’s commercial real estate sector.
Similarly, research from the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) shows that, while 50.6% of men invest in real estate, only 29.8% of women do the same.
Yet, despite these odds, a dramatic shift is unfolding across Nigeria’s cities.
“They asked me where my husband was”
For many women, the first barrier to real estate is land—who can own it, who can negotiate for it, and who is taken seriously during the process.
“When I went to inspect my first land, the community elders asked me where my husband was,” recalls Abuja-based Ifunanya Okeke. “They said, ‘Madam, this kind of discussion is for men.’”
Born into a middle-income family, Okeke began her career as a banker before transitioning into property development. Years of approving loans for mostly male developers revealed a clear pattern: real estate was lucrative, but access was unequal.
When she finally decided to invest, banks demanded collateral she did not yet have, while landowners treated her with suspicion.
“Men were assumed to be serious investors,” she says. “Women were assumed to be messengers.”
Her breakthrough came through cooperative financing—pooling resources with other women professionals—combined with meticulous documentation. She learnt to enter negotiations armed with survey plans, legal counsel and confidence.
Today, Okeke leads projects worth hundreds of millions of naira and employs over 60 workers, many of them women.
Structural barriers and institutional bias
Women’s exclusion from real estate in Nigeria is not accidental. It is rooted in cultural norms, legal complexity, and financial structures that disadvantage women from the outset.
In many communities, land inheritance still follows patriarchal lines. Many women access property through fathers, husbands or male relatives, an arrangement that often makes ownership precarious.
Financial institutions compound this problem by requiring collateral, usually land or property that many women do not possess.
“Access to capital is the biggest wall,” says Zainab Ahmed, a land administrator in Abuja. “Even when women have viable projects, they are seen as higher risk.”
Ahmed is one of the few women in decision-making roles within the land-administration framework, so she’s familiar with the gender imbalance.
“I sit in meetings where women developers are spoken over or questioned more aggressively than men,” she says. “But I also see how prepared they come. Many are overqualified because they know they will be scrutinised.”
Recently, Ahmed’s office pushed for more transparent land-allocation processes and digital documentation to reduce discretionary bias. While progress is gradual, she believes institutional reform is essential if women are to move from the margins to the mainstream.
Not all women enter real estate through development. Some begin as investors, taking cautious but strategic steps toward ownership.
At 30, Chiamaka Nwoye became the first woman in her family to own property in Abuja. Single, she was determined not to wait for marriage to secure her financial future.
“I kept hearing that real estate was for men or married women,” she says. “But rent was swallowing my income, and I wanted an asset.”
Her journey was far from smooth. Family members discouraged her, urging her to prioritise marriage. Agents tried to inflate prices or redirect negotiations to male relatives. Through savings, meticulous research and mentorship from a trusted realtor, however, she closed the deal.
Currently, Nwoye owns two rental properties and is exploring short-let investments. She also mentors young women, demystifying property documents, land titles and financing options.
“Information is power,” she says. “Once women understand the system, fear reduces.”
Networks and mentorship
Beyond ownership and investment, women are redefining leadership in real estate, bringing varying priorities to how housing is planned and delivered.
“Women developers tend to think beyond profit,” says architect Funke Adeyemi. “They ask questions about safety, accessibility, and community.”
Adeyemi, who has worked on several housing projects led by female developers, notes subtle but meaningful differences. Designs often place greater emphasis on inclusivity, shared spaces and the needs of children and elderly residents.
This shift matters in a country grappling with housing deficits and rapid urbanisation. As women gain influence, the definition of development begins to change, from buildings as commodities to homes as lived spaces.
Mentorship has been pivotal to this gender shift. Across Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt, informal networks of women in property have emerged. They share leads on land opportunities, recommend reliable lawyers and surveyors and caution one another against fraudulent deals.
“I would not be here without other women,” Okeke admits. “Someone showed me how to avoid mistakes they had already paid for.”
These networks counter the isolation many women experience in male-dominated spaces and help build pipelines for younger women venturing into the sector—challenging the leadership gap highlighted by the CREW study.
Progress is fragile
While men still dominate Nigeria’s real estate sector, signs of change are increasingly visible. More women are registering property firms. More are attending land auctions. More are asking questions in rooms where they were once silent.
Still, the numbers remain stark. With women holding less than 11% of property ownership and just 9% of executive roles, progress is uneven and fragile.
Policy interventions—such as gender-responsive financing, land reforms, and targeted training—are essential to sustaining momentum.
“Women’s participation is not just a gender issue,” Ahmed stresses. “It is an economic issue. When women own property, families are more secure, and communities are more stable.”
Women may still be underrepresented in Nigeria’s property sector, but they are no longer invisible.
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