Tinubu: NCGC guarantees unlock N46.95bn in loans for businesses

Entrepreneurship & SMEs, Politics

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says the National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) has issued ₦21.59 billion in guarantees, helping participating financial institutions extend ₦46.95 billion in loans to businesses and borrowers.

Tinubu, in a statement on Monday, said the NCGC was established to address one of the major barriers to business financing by sharing part of the lending risk with participating financial institutions.

He said the arrangement gives lenders greater confidence to extend credit to viable businesses and borrowers who may otherwise struggle to secure loans because of limited collateral or lack of credit history.

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“When I sought your mandate, I promised to move Nigeria towards a credit-based economy and to establish a loan guarantee scheme that would help small businesses overcome the barriers that keep them from finance,” Tinubu said.

The president said the NCGC currently works with 19 financial institutions comprising 13 commercial banks, three microfinance banks and three development finance institutions.

“One year into operations, we can see what that model is doing,” he said.

Tinubu said every ₦1 in guarantees had helped unlock about ₦2.17 in credit, with 67,512 borrowers across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory receiving NCGC-backed credit.

He added that 11,374 of the beneficiaries were women, while 33.5 per cent were first-time formal borrowers.

“For more than 22,000 Nigerians, this is their first entry into the formal credit system. They now have a credit record they can build. Each successful repayment strengthens that record and can make the next loan easier to secure,” he said.

According to the president, the businesses supported through the scheme account for an estimated 661,291 direct and indirect jobs.

Tinubu also reiterated his administration’s commitment to supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through shared production facilities under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said the Federal Government was investing in shared MSME hubs through its National MSME Clinics to provide entrepreneurs with access to modern equipment, reliable power and production facilities without requiring them to bear the full cost individually.

“Today, 21 shared facilities across 19 states and the FCT are supporting businesses and an estimated 650,000 jobs,” he said.

Tinubu said the initiative was aimed at addressing the infrastructure and equipment constraints that often prevent small businesses from expanding.

“A tailor should not need millions of naira to buy industrial machinery before she can grow her business. A food processor should not have to build a factory before producing at scale,” he said.

The president said Nigerians had the ideas, skills and ambition to build successful businesses but often lacked access to the tools and infrastructure required to turn those capabilities into sustainable enterprises.

He said the government’s responsibility was to remove such barriers so that businesses could increase production, reduce costs, become more competitive and create employment.

Tinubu also cited other credit-related initiatives, including the Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Bank of Industry and the Development Bank of Nigeria.

He said CREDICORP provides consumer credit to working Nigerians, while NELFUND supports student financing and the Bank of Industry and Development Bank of Nigeria continue to provide financing to businesses.

“Credit matters because of what people can do with it. A trader can restock before the festive season. When a manufacturer takes a bigger order and buys another machine to fill it, another Nigerian gets a job,” Tinubu said.

He said the government would continue to expand access to credit so that more Nigerians and businesses could benefit from the opportunities created by its economic reforms.

“We will keep widening that road until the opportunities our reforms create reach homes and businesses in every part of Nigeria,” he said.