NCGC unlocks N64bn loans for 174,495 Nigerians

The National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) Limited says it has helped 174,495 borrowers access N64.13bn in loans across Nigeria in its first year of operations, with women accounting for nearly 43 per cent of beneficiaries.
The company said it deployed N30.19bn in guarantees to support the loans through 19 participating financial institutions, including commercial banks, microfinance banks and development finance institutions.
Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Bonaventure Okhaimo, disclosed the figures on Tuesday in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents on the company’s performance.
According to its programme performance report as of October 21, every N1 in guarantees provided by the company had supported about N2.12 in lending.
Okhaimo explained that NCGC does not lend directly to borrowers but provides partial guarantees that reduce lenders’ risks and encourage them to extend credit to businesses and individuals who might otherwise struggle to qualify.
Of the 174,495 beneficiaries, 74,503, representing 42.7 per cent, were women, while 22,616, or 12.96 per cent, accessed formal finance for the first time. Another 7,731 borrowers were recorded under youth empowerment.
Trade and commerce, alongside agribusiness and agro-processing, accounted for slightly more than 80 per cent of beneficiaries.
The company said its participating financial institutions reported 175,481 direct jobs associated with supported borrowers, while its estimates put indirect jobs at 739,310, bringing the total number of jobs impacted to 914,791.
To improve access to finance for women entrepreneurs, NCGC launched GuaranteeHer, a gender-responsive credit guarantee framework designed to strengthen existing women-focused lending programmes.
The initiative works with schemes such as Access Bank’s W Initiative, FirstBank’s FirstGem, FCMB’s SheVentures, Sterling Bank’s Smart Women and Fidelity Bank’s FundHer. The guarantees are intended to help lenders offer lower interest rates, reduced collateral requirements and longer repayment periods.
Over five years, GuaranteeHer aims to mobilise more than N100bn in lending, finance over 20,000 women-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and support more than 150,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The framework provides guarantee coverage of up to 70 per cent of eligible loan exposure, with a maximum limit of N50m per borrower.
Okhaimo said the company had also signed memoranda of understanding with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria on financial literacy and capacity building, and with the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation on risk-sharing to expand consumer credit.
Other partners include the Bank of Industry, the National Insurance Commission (NICOM), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi), NIRSAL and AGRA. The company is also working with the World Bank Group on technical assistance and first-loss capital.
NCGC was incorporated in May 2025 and licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in August of the same year. It has a N100bn capital base, held in equal 25 per cent shares by the Bank of Industry, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and CREDICORP.
The company said its broader objective was to help viable Nigerian businesses obtain credit despite limited collateral.