Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria. Photo: SMEDAN The National Credit Guarantee Company Limited and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve access to finance for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises across the country.
The agreement, signed at the NCGC headquarters in Abuja, seeks to strengthen financial inclusion, support enterprise development and stimulate economic growth by addressing one of the major constraints facing small businesses, access to affordable financing. According to a statement released on Wednesday by NCGC, the partnership will see both organisations collaborate on initiatives to improve the creditworthiness of MSMEs, promote financial literacy, facilitate access to credit guarantees and implement capacity-building programmes to help businesses expand, create jobs and contribute more significantly to the economy.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NCGC, Dr Bonaventure Okhaimo, described the collaboration as a strategic intervention that aligns with the Federal Government’s efforts to support entrepreneurship and unlock economic opportunities.
He noted that MSMEs remain critical to Nigeria’s economy because of their contribution to employment generation and economic activity. “Through this partnership with SMEDAN, we are creating a stronger framework that will enable more businesses to access the financing they need to scale, innovate, and thrive,” Okhaimo said.
The statement noted that the collaboration would also focus on knowledge sharing, stakeholder engagement and awareness campaigns to educate MSMEs on available financing opportunities and the role of credit guarantees in reducing lending risks for financial institutions.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by NCGC, the partnership will see both organisations collaborate on initiatives to improve the creditworthiness of MSMEs, promote financial literacy, facilitate access to credit guarantees and implement capacity-building programmes to help businesses expand, create jobs and contribute more significantly to the economy.
“Through this partnership with SMEDAN, we are creating a stronger framework that will enable more businesses to access the financing they need to scale, innovate, and thrive,” Okhaimo said. The NCGC boss highlighted the company’s impact since inception, disclosing that it had facilitated N32.78bn in credit and provided more than N13.09bn in guarantees through partnerships with financial institutions.