Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) have signed a $25 million NASIRA guarantee agreement. This guarantee will allow FCMB to provide more funding to agriculture, youth, and women-owned SMEs without requiring collateral, focusing on clients typically considered too risky by conventional banks.
Funded by the European Commission, NASIRA is one of FMO’s most innovative programs, encouraging local banks to support small entrepreneurs without collateral. Interestingly, the FMO guarantee, which acts as collateral, is often not fully utilized, proving that these entrepreneurs, mainly women and young people, are not riskier than others.
In addition to the $25 million NASIRA guarantee, FMO will support FCMB with a syndicated loan of $60 million. This loan includes $20 million from FMO, $30 million from the European Financing Platform on behalf of BIO, DEG, EIB, FINNFUND, Proparco, and SWEDFUND, and $10 million from FMO Investment Management. The loan is dedicated to expanding FCMB’s existing portfolio of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
At the signing ceremony during the ninth Nigeria EU Business Forum, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Samuela Isopi, stated, “We are delighted to see EU investment instruments, such as the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD+) guarantees, coming to Nigeria to play a catalytic role in leveraging private sector investments for the benefit of the real sector, economic diversification, and job creation, particularly for youth and women.”
The transaction also includes a technical assistance program. Through this initiative, FCMB and FMO will select and support 15 scalable early-stage agri-tech businesses in Nigeria. Together, they will identify 15 innovative business models that address significant issues in the agricultural sector, contributing to SDG2: zero hunger and food security.
 and Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) have signed a $25 million NASIRA guarantee agreement.){kind=link}