{"id":56584,"date":"2022-03-08T22:32:26","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T21:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=56584"},"modified":"2022-03-08T22:32:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T21:32:26","slug":"firstbank-partners-with-cdc-bii-to-support-women-and-small-business-owners-with-a-us100-million-credit-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/firstbank-partners-with-cdc-bii-to-support-women-and-small-business-owners-with-a-us100-million-credit-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"FirstBank Partners With CDC\/BII To Support Women and Small Business Owners With A US$100 Million Credit Facility  \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">Facility to strengthen FirstBank\u2019s commitment to gender financing with US$30 million targeted to women-owned and led businesses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">Partnership will enhance funding to local SMEs to boost growth and promote financial and social inclusion across Nigeria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">The facility adds US$100 million to CDC\/BII\u2019s contribution to the 2XChallenge<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria\u2019s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, has announced its partnership with CDC Group, the UK Government&#8217;s development finance institution on a US$100 million finance facility to FirstBank. This new facility will direct funding to women-owned and led businesses as well as to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">The deal will support FirstBank<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" name=\"_Hlk96004910\"><\/a>\u00a0to deliver financial solutions that help to address the challenge of limited access to capital faced by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" name=\"_Hlk96006858\"><\/a>underbanked and underserved groups in the country. As part of the new facility, a minimum of US$30 million will be allocated in the form of credit lines to women entrepreneurs. The facility will also support FirstBank\u2019s \u2018FirstGem\u2019 gender-focused services offering, which takes steps to promote gender inclusion by improving lending and support to female entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">The new partnership between CDC, which will be renamed British International Investment in April, and FirstBank demonstrates a shared mission to spur sustainable, productive and inclusive growth in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">CDC\u2019s commitment will facilitate an expanded offer by FirstBank to its clientele, which will accelerate financial inclusion and increase opportunities for marginalised groups, including an estimated 59 million unbanked Nigerians, to participate in the country\u2019s formal economy. As such, the partnership will capitalise on the FirstBank\u2019s expansive network of over 700 branches and 150,000+ agents, leveraging its market leading expertise to scale financial solutions to underbanked entrepreneurs and populations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">In addition, CDC\/BII will support FirstBank with a technical assistance programme which will build on the Bank&#8217;s knowledge base of the women-led and women-owned businesses in its portfolio, strengthening the Bank\u2019s technical capabilities and ability to reinforce its commitment to gender-based initiatives. This will enable the Bank to further leverage the facility to provide vital funding to scale business growth across Nigeria\u2019s market \u2013 increasing job creation and improving livelihoods throughout the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">The facility\u2019s target to increase financial inclusion and opportunities for women, qualifies this facility under the 2x Challenge \u2013 a commitment by the development finance institutions (DFIs) of the G7 to mobilise capital to support increased economic empowerment for women in emerging economies. Moreover, the US$100 million commitment aligns with the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goal 5 Gender Equality and Goal 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth.<\/p><div data-ad-id=\"32665\" style=\"text-align:center; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px;float:none;\" class=\"afw afw_ad_image afw_ad afwadid-32665  \">\r\n                                                            <div style=\"font-size:10px;text-align:center;color:#cccccc;\">Advertisement<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.accessbankplc.com\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"auto\" max-width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Banner-1.jpg\"><\/a>\r\n                                                                        \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\"><b>Nick O\u2019Donohoe, Chief Executive of CDC Group, said:<\/b>\u00a0&#8220;<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" name=\"_Hlk96325044\"><\/a>Promoting financial inclusion is a key component for advancing sweeping productive and sustainable growth across both rural and urban areas in Nigeria. This facility will channel CDC\u2019s flexible and long-term capital toward expanding the financial solutions made available to women entrepreneurs, who are often the drivers of small business ideas and services to their communities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">\u201cOur commitment demonstrates a deepening of British partnership with Nigeria\u2019s businesses, as we collaborate to unlock the potential for entrepreneurial success and economic growth across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-38834\" src=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dr.-Adesola-Adeduntan-FirstBank-CEO-285x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"285\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dr.-Adesola-Adeduntan-FirstBank-CEO-285x300.jpg 285w, https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dr.-Adesola-Adeduntan-FirstBank-CEO-768x809.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dr.-Adesola-Adeduntan-FirstBank-CEO-972x1024.jpg 972w, https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dr.-Adesola-Adeduntan-FirstBank-CEO-104x110.jpg 104w, https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dr.-Adesola-Adeduntan-FirstBank-CEO-399x420.jpg 399w, https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dr.-Adesola-Adeduntan-FirstBank-CEO-408x430.jpg 408w, https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Dr.-Adesola-Adeduntan-FirstBank-CEO.jpg 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 285px) 100vw, 285px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\"><b>Adesola Adeduntan, Managing Director \/ Chief Executive Officer, FirstBank said: \u201c<\/b>Beyond the<b>\u00a0<\/b>mutual benefits this partnership offers to both organisations, this transaction offers yet, another occasion for FirstBank to contribute immensely, to the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">\u201cEnabling financial inclusion for SMEs has been a strategic priority for FirstBank over the last 128 years.\u00a0 Similarly, FirstBank has been at the forefront of financially empowering women-owned and women-led businesses on the continent.\u00a0 This partnership with CDC\/BII offers a fantastic opportunity to accelerate the momentum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">\u201cAt FirstBank, we remain ever committed to fostering financial inclusion, creating wealth for the underserved, enhancing access to quality education and health care, improving lives and empowering women.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1803064688MsoNormal\">\n<\/p><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FirstBank Partners With CDC\/BII To Support Women and Small Business Owners With A US$100 Million Credit Facility  \u00a0<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,17],"tags":[8493],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-56584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-business","category-news","tag-firstbank-plc"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.9 - 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