Proparco grants Wema Bank a first €5 million guarantee to finance impact-driven MSMEs in Nigeria

By entering into a first partnership with Wema Bank, Proparco is deploying a NGN 9 billion ARIZ portfolio guarantee (equivalent to €5 million) to facilitate access to finance for Nigerian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with an expected impact on employment and economic resilience.

Proparco is granting a NGN 9 billion ARIZ portfolio guarantee (equivalent to €5 million) to Wema Bank in Nigeria. This marks the first collaboration between the two institutions.

This guarantee, covering 50% of the final loss risk, will enable Wema Bank to build over two years a loan portfolio totaling NGN 18 billion (equivalent to €10 million) for the benefit of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), key drivers of growth and employment.

The operation will target sectors with strong impact on the real economy: agriculture, healthcare, education, pharmaceuticals, green finance, as well as short-term facilities designed to support companies’ working capital needs. The objective is clear: to remove structural barriers to credit access faced by many MSMEs and support their development in a challenging macroeconomic environment.

With more than 220 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and is projected to become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, according to United Nations forecasts. In light of the considerable challenges related to employment and financial inclusion, supporting MSMEs is a key lever for economic and social development.

By supporting Wema Bank, a particularly active player in the MSME segment, Proparco is helping to strengthen financing for entrepreneurs often at the early stages of their growth trajectory. The operation is fully aligned with Proparco’s 2023–2027 strategy to promote a sustainable and resilient economy by facilitating access to financial services and supporting local job creation and retention.

Xavier Echasseriau, Proparco Regional Director for Nigeria, stated: “With this first transaction with Wema Bank, we are proud to establish a long-term partnership with one of the country’s oldest and most active banks, recognized for its initiatives to enhance digital banking access for MSMEs and to strengthen its portfolio in this client segment, thereby contributing to improved financial inclusion nationwide. By sharing risk with Wema Bank, we are helping to increase financing volumes for Nigerian MSMEs. This operation addresses a central challenge: supporting entrepreneurship and employment in a country with strong demographic momentum and substantial financing needs.”

Through this partnership, Proparco reaffirms its commitment to supporting strong local financial institutions to energize the entrepreneurial ecosystem and contribute to more inclusive and resilient growth in Nigeria. 

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