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174,495 Nigerians benefit as 22,616 MSMEs secure first-ever loans
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Women account for 42.7% of beneficiaries
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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) has guaranteed N64.13 billion in loans to businesses and underserved Nigerians since commencing operations, and has disclosed that none of its partner financial institutions has filed a claim for payment arising from loan defaults.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NCGC, Bonaventure Okhaimo, disclosed this on Tuesday during a media briefing on the company’s performance and execution of its mandate at the State House.
Okhaimo said the company had deployed N30.19 billion in credit guarantees to support N64.13 billion in loans as of 21 October 2026, enabling businesses that would ordinarily struggle to obtain bank financing to access credit.
He explained that the NCGC does not lend directly to individuals or businesses but provides partial credit guarantees to financial institutions, sharing the risks associated with lending to borrowers who lack conventional collateral.
Under its standard framework, the company covers up to 60 per cent of the loan risk, giving participating lenders greater confidence to finance viable businesses that might otherwise be rejected.
Providing further details of its reach, Okhaimo said 174,495 Nigerians across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory had benefited from the intervention through partnerships with 19 financial institutions.
He said 42.7 per cent of the beneficiaries were women, while 22,616 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) had obtained loans for the first time.
The company also attributed 914,791 jobs to its interventions, comprising 175,481 direct jobs and an estimated 739,310 indirect jobs.
Okhaimo explained that the direct employment figures were obtained from participating financial institutions, while the indirect jobs were calculated using employment multipliers applied in development finance, adjusted to reflect the company’s share of the credit risk.
Addressing concerns about loan defaults, the Executive Director in charge of Risk Management, Utezike Loseni, said the company was prepared to honour legitimate claims from participating financial institutions.
He, however, disclosed that no participating financial institution had filed a claim for payment as of the briefing.
According to him, once a claim is submitted, the company is committed to settling it within 30 days, provided the requirements are met.
The NCGC chief executive said the intervention was primarily designed to improve access to credit, while acknowledging that it could also help reduce borrowing costs by lowering the risk premium charged by lenders.
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He explained that banks typically factor borrowers’ credit risks into interest rates and collateral requirements, adding that guarantees could reduce the risk premium and some of the transaction costs associated with securing loans.
However, he clarified that the company does not determine interest rates, as lending institutions retain responsibility for setting the terms of loans issued from their own balance sheets.
On support for women-owned businesses, Okhaimo said the company had introduced the Guarantee for Women initiative, known as Guarantee Her, to expand access to finance for women entrepreneurs.
Launched on 29 July 2026, the initiative provides a framework under which the NCGC can cover up to 70 per cent of qualifying loans to women-owned businesses, compared with the standard 60 per cent coverage.
He said the programme targets more than N100 billion in lending over five years, with at least 20,000 women-owned enterprises expected to benefit and generate more than 150,000 jobs.
As part of the initiative, he cited support for the Bank of Industry’s N10 billion loan programme for women-owned MSMEs, alongside efforts to work with other financial institutions to expand financing opportunities.
Okhaimo said the company’s mandate also covers agriculture, local manufacturing and consumer credit for productive purposes, noting that some of its early interventions involved aggregators supporting smallholder farmers in North-Central Nigeria.
He added that the company was conducting capacity-building programmes to help MSMEs understand credit management, improve their business documentation and meet their tax obligations.
The NCGC was established on 29 May 2025, following approval by President Bola Tinubu and obtained its operating licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria on 9 August 2025. It operates under the oversight of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The company commenced operations with N100 billion in capital contributed equally by the Bank of Industry, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation.
Okhaimo said the N100 billion capital base could support a guarantee portfolio of up to N1 trillion under the company’s leverage framework, positioning it to mobilise additional private-sector financing for businesses.
He said the company was established as part of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda to address a longstanding barrier to business growth: the inability of otherwise viable enterprises to secure loans because they lack acceptable collateral.
The NCGC said its continued expansion would depend on stronger partnerships with financial institutions and increased awareness among businesses of the opportunities available through its guarantee programmes.
Also speaking at the briefing, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the NCGC as a significant economic reform, arguing that access to credit was essential for expanding businesses, stimulating investment and supporting sustainable economic growth.
