First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has obtained a $50m credit facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to boost access to long term funding in women empowered businesses and local enterprises involved in agribusiness, manufacturing, health care, and renewable energy.
According to the Bank, the $50m credit line, will narrow the lending gap to underserved segments and complement its lending efforts and operations in the Nigerian market.
AfDB’s Director of Financial Sector Development, Mr Stefan Nalletamby, said in a statement that the Bank is “pleased to support FCMB’s strategy to become a dominant player in addressing the funding needs of women-empowered and local enterprises.
According to the AfDB, this project will extend valuable resources to critical but underserved segments during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with its adverse macroeconomic impact.
It added that the project also advances its 10-year strategy and is consistent with three of its high-five strategic priorities.
“These are industrialise Africa, Feed Africa, and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. This also aligns with the Nigeria Country Strategy Paper 2020-2024” it stressed. AfDB will disburse the funds to FCMB before the end of this year.
Commenting on the deals, Managing Director, FCMB, Mrs. Yemisi Edun thanked the AfDB for having confidence in the FCMB, saying the credit line would help it increase lending to high impact sectors of the Nigerian economy.
She said: “The $50m credit line will increase access to finance for women empowered businesses and enterprises involved in agribusiness, manufacturing, renewable energy and healthcare, enabling them to build back better post-COVID. We are delighted that a minimum of 30 per cent of the funds will go specifically to women empowered businesses, which would, in turn, contribute to stimulating gender equality and empowerment. Remarkably, it aligns with FCMB’s transformative agenda of boosting household economic resilience by improving women’s access to credit and work opportunities.” In addition to the $50m, the AfDB will provide a technical assistance grant of $200,000 to FCMB through its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA). The Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative, an international partnership supporting women entrepreneurs in developing countries, supports AFAWA. The assistance grant complements the loan and will further strengthen training, monitoring and reporting by the Bank.