Nigeria Financing from African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the continent’s premier development institution, whose ultimate objective is to spur economic development and social progress in its regional member countries, signed an agreement with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) in Nigeria.

That $50 million line of credit is intended for lending activities that will help women-led businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their post-pandemic recovery. The main sectors of focus will be agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare, and renewable energy. 

The line of credit will also be accompanied by a technical assistance package under AfDB’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA). That assistance, which consists of a $285,000 grant from the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative (We-Fi), will help women enhance their financial literacy, business management and entrepreneurial skills. 

According to the AfDB, the project will benefit at least 50 enterprises: 29 in the agribusiness and manufacturing sectors, 9 in renewable energy and 13 in the healthcare industry. It will create a minimum of 1000 jobs and enable roughly 14 female entrepreneurs to gain access to long-term funding.  
The Bank’s top priorities in Nigeria, according to their Country Strategy Paper 2020-2024, are to support infrastructure development and promote social inclusion through agribusiness and skills development. 

To learn more about the African Development Bank’s work in Nigeria and actionable opportunities, please contact Elvire Kodio at CSAfDB@trade.gov.