The African Development Bank has signed a $50m line of credit agreement with Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to bolster access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and “women-empowered” business (WEBs).
First City Monument Bank is a purpose beyond-profit commercial banking institution and a member of FCMB Group , a financial services holding.
The bank is committed to COVID-19 recovery, income equality and poverty reduction by easing credit constraints to disadvantaged individuals and small businesses.
FCMB said it will use the proceeds of the line of credit to finance SMEs and WEBs in Nigeria’s agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare and renewable energy sectors.
The funds are intended to mitigate the effects of the challenges created by COVID-19 pandemic on the business environment in which the beneficiary enterprises operate.
The African Development Bank will also partner with FCMB through a technical assistance grant of $200,000 sourced from the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative (WeFi) under its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative.
FCMB will deploy the grant resources to provide non-financial services, including training and strengthening of its monitoring and reporting functions for WEBs.
Small and medium-sized firms account for up to 80% of employment in most African countries, FCMB highlighted. Further, women-empowered businesses typically face a considerable financing gap.
Yemisi Edun, managing director, FCMB Limited, said, “We are happy to collaborate with the African Development Bank to create expanded opportunities and accelerate post-COVID-19 pandemic business recovery for small, medium-sized, and women-owned businesses in Nigeria through funding and technical support. We are intentional about collaborations that upskill entrepreneurs, drive industrialisation, and create economic value, wealth and employment for Nigerians.
“This collaboration also shows that AfDB truly believes in the growth potential of FCMB, the excellent corporate governance structures we have put in place and our strong performance over the years. We remain committed to empowering our customers and stakeholders to achieve their personal and business aspirations””
Nigerian B2B payments platform Duplo recently raised $4.3m in its seed round, which was supplied by a coalition of investors and angels.
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