Yemisi Izuora
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and Fidelity Bank Plc Tuesday entered into a $50 million financing agreement to boost the Nigerian bank’s impetus in promoting the growth of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) segment of the economy.
The agreement-signing ceremony in Abuja was a formal consummation of the AfDB Board’s October 10, 2018 approval of the facility, which is totally dedicated to financing the MSMEs.
A minimum of 30 per cent of the entire facility will be devoted to wholly women-owned enterprises.
In his remarks at the ceremony in Abuja, the AfDB Senior Director/Country Representative, Ebrima Faao, who signed on behalf of his bank, said the pan-African financial institution was excited with the Fidelity Bank partnership.
“We are excited about this partnership. The lines of credit tended to be general support for SMEs. This one has strong emphasis on gender. It can be considered as a vanguard credit for us.
“Our main focus is to reach out to SMEs to give the much needed impact. We count on you to ensure that the requirement for loan disbursement is okay to enable it reach out to the target audience,” Faao said.
He had previously described Fidelity Bank as a niche player, focused on the SME space, adding that the $50 million credit line will contribute to strengthening its presence in its key market segments.
The Deputy Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Mohammed Balarabe, who also signed for his bank, stated that this line of credit granted to his bank was principally targeted at the MSMEs.