Shettima inaugurates NCGC board, says firm will unlock MSME financing in Nigeria

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has inaugurated the board of directors of the National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) Limited.

In a statement on Thursday, Stanley Nkwocha, the vice-president’s senior special assistant on media and communications, said the inauguration was held at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Shettima said the creation of the NCGC demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to bridging the financing gap that has long affected micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

President Bola Tinubu established the NCGC on May 29 with an initial capital of N100 billion.

He also approved the constitution of its board and appointed Yakubu Dogara, former speaker of the house of representatives, as chairman.

While inaugurating the board, Shettima said the initiative addresses a decades-long challenge in accessing finance, pointing out that entrepreneurs need credibility for their ideas matched by confidence from lenders.

He described the NCGC as “a critical engine in our pursuit of economic inclusion and sustainable growth”.

Shettima said the company will serve as a vital link between small businesses and financial institutions, building the trust required for loan access.

“NCGC is that bridge. It is the assurance that when a farmer in Ibadan needs a loan to expand her cocoa farm, when a tech start-up in Abuja needs working capital to scale, when a leather artisan in Kano seeks to mechanise his craft, and when a trader in Onitsha needs capital to expand, the system will no longer fail them,” he said.

“It is a promise that productive Nigerians will not be stranded for want of guarantees.”

The president asked the board to deepen financial inclusion and stimulate Nigeria’s grassroots economy, balancing prudence with courage and accountability with ambition as they turn policy into results.

“This is a call to deploy your diverse expertise not only as overseers but as enablers of transformation,” he said.

“On behalf of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GFCR, and the Federal Government of Nigeria, I hereby declare the Board of Directors of the National Credit Guarantee Company Limited duly inaugurated.”

In his remarks, Dogara thanked the president for his bold leadership.

He said the establishment of the NCGC is an attempt to give “vent to our democracy to deliver on its promise”.

“As it is said, the promise of democracy is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the board chairman said.

“You can be alive and may enjoy all the rights, but if you don’t have the means with which to pursue happiness, you are excluded from the promise of democracy. Our democracy must deliver not just political and individual rights but economic opportunities.”

‘NCGC DISMANTLES FINANCIAL BARRIERS’

Olasupo Olusi, the managing director of the Bank of Industry (BOI), said the establishment of the company reflects the administration’s drive to dismantle structural barriers that have long restricted access to finance for MSMEs, manufacturers, consumers and other segments of the economy.

“This milestone is a result of dedicated hard work by a coalition of partners like BOI, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and the World Bank, who have all worked closely together under the direction of the Presidential Committee,” Olusi said.

Other board members include Tinoula Aigwedo, executive director of strategy and operations; Ezekiel Oseni, executive director of risk management; and Yeside Kazeem, independent non-executive director.

Non-executive board members representing key financial institutions include Olusi; Aminu Sadiq-Umar, managing director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority; Uzoma Nwagba, managing director of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation; and Oluwakemi Owonubi from the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).