This certainly are good times for Nigerian Small and Medium scale enterprises.
This is as a German bank is set to empower 10,000 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with $33 million credit facility.
The German bank, KfW Development Bank is aimed at supporting the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) realize its goal of providing financial empowerment to African entrepreneurs.
The initiative was announced by AGF’s Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Felix Bikpo. According to Bikpo, the bank’s funding would enable the group to carry out its initiatives in Africa.
He said that this new injection came at a time the continent’s SME sector had been singled out as a key driver of growth.
Bikpo made known that the group would also be partnering financial institutions so as to create 30,000 jobs on a yearly basis.
“We are excited about the confidence our shareholders and partners have in what we are doing in Africa. This capital injection will go a long way in ensuring that we continue to make a positive impact on the continent.
“So far, we have cumulatively issued more than $1 billion worth of guarantees, making available about $1.7 billion for SME financing through our partner financial institutions. This has led to the creation of more than 100, 000 additional jobs,” Bikpo said.
