Dutch development bank FMO has announced a $295m (€270m) syndicated loan facility, to Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender by assets, to support women-led and youth-led SMEs with working capital at a time when most of them are struggling to stay afloat.
British International Investment (BII), Belgian DFI BIO, BlueOrchard, FinDev Canada, Finnfund, Norfund, Swedfund and social investor Oikocredit backed the facility. BI is committing $50m to the facility while Sweden’s DFI Swedfund is committing $30m.
Michael Jongeneel, FMO’s CEO, said the loan would provide significant support to the sector, notably in underserved segments such as women and young entrepreneurs, improving financial inclusion and empowering local entrepreneurs in the agri-business and other SME sectors.
Access Bank has more than 60 million customers and over 700 branches and service outlets in Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. It is part of Access Holdings, which has been listed in the Nigerian stock exchange since 1998. The bank recently acquired Kenya’s National Bank as well TransNational Bank, African Banking Corporation of Tanzania (ABCT) Limited and Standard Chartered branches subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone in a consolidation move.
Roosevelt Ogbonna, Access Bank’s chief executive officer, said the Tier II Facility agreement underscored “deep-rooted trust” between the bank and the Dutch lender.
“For us at Access, this facility not only enhances our capital reserves but also strengthens Africa’s trade capabilities and export potential. Putting these funds to use, we aim to catalyse growth across various sectors, stimulate business development, create jobs, and deepen financial inclusion,” he said.
After CEO Herbert Wigwe, died alongside five others in a helicopter crash, Access Bank appointed Bolaji Agbede, Access Bank’s most senior founding executive director as acting CEO. Ms Agbede joined Access Bank in 2003 and has nearly 30 years of experience in banking and business consultancy.
Nigeria was home to almost 40 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, providing 86% of employment and contributing 50% of GDP, according to 2022 figures from the World Bank.
One-third of Nigeria’s fast-growing population of 230 million is unemployed. The country has in recent years had to deal with a number of crises, including food shortages and rising prices for energy and staple foods such as rice. Inflation was 34.2% in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria, which was a jump of 11.4% compared with the same month a year ago.
