First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have agreed to a $50 million credit to boost access to capital for small- and medium-sized businesses and women-owned businesses.
In order to accelerate the nation’s post-pandemic economic recovery and promote inclusive and climate-resilient growth, FCMB will use the line of credit to increase lending activity.
According to a statement from the bank, it would concentrate on businesses in Nigeria’s manufacturing, healthcare, and renewable energy sectors.
Under its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) project, the AfDB is further giving a $285,000 technical assistance package. The Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative (We-Fi) will use the grant money to increase the monitoring and reporting capabilities of FCMB as well as women-led firms’ financial literacy, business management, and entrepreneurial skills.
Lamin Barrow, the director general of the AfDB for Nigeria, said: “The Bank’s support to FCMB will advance the objectives of the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, which seeks to improve gender inclusivity by enhancing access to finance for women entrepreneurs.”
“With at least 30 percent of the funding from the Line of Credit to be channelled to women-owned businesses, FCMB will be better positioned to scale up the deployment of its tailored products and services to meet the needs of SMEs and women-owned businesses,” Barrow said.
