AfDB gives $50m loan to FCMB for women, SMEs

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has given a $50 million loan to the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to increase lending to female-owned businesses and other local small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).

According to a statement from the FCMB Friday, the credit facility will narrow the lending gap to underserved segments and complement FCMB’s lending efforts and operations in the Nigerian market.

• PODCAST: The Real Implication of CBN’s No-Dollar-For-BDC Policy
• Despite COVID-19, Nigerians escape to overseas in droves

The AfDB will disburse the funds to FCMB before the end of this year.

The statement quoted the managing director of the FCMB, Mrs Yemisi Edun as saying, “The $50m credit line will increase access to finance for women empowered businesses and enterprises involved in agribusiness, manufacturing, renewable energy and health care, 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.”

It added, the AfDB will also provide a technical assistance grant of $200,000 to the FCMB through its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) towards supporting women entrepreneurs in developing countries.