NCGC Backs N64.13bn in Loans for 174,495 Nigerians in First Year

The National Credit Guarantee Company Limited backed N64.13bn in loans for 174,495 borrowers in its first year of operations. Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Bonaventure Okhaimo, disclosed the figures on Tuesday in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents.

Okhaimo said the programme performance report as of October 21 showed that guarantees helped 19 participating financial institutions extend credit to eligible borrowers. The institutions include commercial banks, microfinance banks and development finance institutions.

How the guarantee model works

NCGC does not lend directly. It guarantees part of eligible loans and shares the risk with lenders when customers fail to repay. The company said this arrangement helps financial institutions lend to borrowers who might otherwise struggle to meet requirements, often with lower collateral demands and better terms.

The report showed that every N1 in guarantees provided by the company unlocked approximately N2.12 in loans.

Women, first-time borrowers and jobs

Women accounted for 74,503 of the 174,495 beneficiaries, representing 42.7% of total borrowers. The company said 22,616 borrowers, representing 12.96%, accessed formal finance for the first time. It recorded 7,731 beneficiaries under its youth empowerment category.

Trade and commerce, alongside agribusiness and agro-processing, accounted for slightly more than 80% of beneficiaries.

Participating financial institutions reported 175,481 direct jobs associated with the borrowers supported by NCGC. The company estimated a further 739,310 indirect jobs, bringing total jobs impacted to 914,791.

GuaranteeHer and other loan schemes

NCGC launched GuaranteeHer, a gender-responsive credit guarantee framework designed to improve women's access to affordable financing. Okhaimo said the initiative was launched on July 29, with the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, as special guest. It was formally unveiled at the company's first-anniversary stakeholders' forum on September 3.

Rather than a new loan product, GuaranteeHer strengthens existing women-focused lending programmes operated by financial institutions. These include Access Bank's W Initiative, FirstBank's FirstGem, FCMB's SheVentures, Sterling's Smart Women and Fidelity's FundHer. Okhaimo said the framework is intended to help participating lenders offer women lower interest rates, reduced collateral requirements and longer repayment periods.

Separately, the Nigerian government is set to empower market women, small-scale traders and artisans with access to zero-interest loans of up to N100,000 through its upcoming MarketMoni and TraderMoni programmes. MarketMoni will provide market women with interest-free loans to grow working capital, restock inventory and expand their businesses. Beneficiaries will enjoy zero collateral, a 3-month moratorium before repayment and nationwide coverage across all six geopolitical zones.

For Nigerian businesses, the NCGC numbers show a credit guarantee model that shares lender risk and has already reached borrowers in trade, agriculture and agro-processing. The test will be whether those guarantees keep unlocking bank credit at a time when many small firms still struggle with collateral.