BY Mary Ugbodaga
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $50 million loan facility to First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to support local enterprises and women-led businesses in the agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare and renewable energy sectors.
In a recent statement by AfDB on Wednesday, the bank said 30 percent of the funds, intended to mitigate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, are earmarked for underserved women-empowered businesses.
AfDB said it will provide a technical assistance grant of $200,000 through its affirmative finance action for women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, supported by the World Bank-AfDB’s women entrepreneurship finance initiative.
It said the grant will complement the $50 million loan by enabling FCMB to provide non-financial services, including training, and to strengthen its monitoring and reporting functions.
Stefan Nalletamby, AfDB’s director of financial sector development, said: “The African Development Bank is pleased to support FCMB’s strategy to become a dominant player in addressing the funding needs of women-empowered and local enterprises.
“This project will extend valuable resources to critical but underserved segments during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with its adverse macroeconomic impacts”.
According to the statement, the project advances AfDB’s ten-year strategy and is consistent with three of its high-5 strategic priorities: industrialize Africa, feed Africa, and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.
In 2020, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, approved a $50 million loan for FCMB to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
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