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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $50-million loan to First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to bolster local enterprises and women-led businesses in Nigeria.
The AFDB is allotting 30 percent of the funds to women-empowered businesses in Nigeria to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will be directed toward companies operating in agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare and renewable energy.
In a statement, AFDB Director of Financial Sector Development Stefan Nalletamby said the bank is pleased to support FCMB’s strategy to become a dominant player in assisting local women-empowered enterprises.
“This project will extend valuable resources to critical but underserved segments during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with its adverse macroeconomic impacts,” he said.
The AFDB will further provide a technical assistance grant of $200,000 through its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative, supported by the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative.*
The grant will complement the loan by enabling FCMB to provide non-financial services and to strengthen its monitoring and reporting functions.
FCMB
FCMB is a Nigeria-based commercial bank founded by Michael Subomi Balogun, an 85-year-old multimillionaire banker and philanthropist. He is regarded as a baron of the Nigerian capital and money markets, as he previously served as a long-time member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Council.
*The Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative is a collaborative partnership among 14 governments, eight multilateral development banks and other public and private sector stakeholders. It is hosted by the World Bank Group and seeks to address financial and non-financial constraints faced by women-owned and -led small and medium enterprises in emerging economies.
