President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced that the Federal Government’s National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) has unlocked N46.95 billion in loans for 67,512 Nigerians and businesses within its first year of operations. The President made this disclosure in a message posted on his verified X handle, @officialABAT. According to Tinubu, the credit was mobilised on the back of N21.59 billion in guarantees issued by the company.
The NCGC’s first-year performance showed that N21.59 billion in risk cover unlocked N46.95 billion in financing for 67,512 borrowers across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The President stated that 11,374 of the beneficiaries are women, while 33.5 per cent of the total beneficiaries are first-time formal borrowers, bringing more than 22,000 Nigerians into the formal credit system for the first time.
Tinubu said the development would allow the new borrowers to establish credit histories which could improve their prospects of securing further financing as they successfully repay their loans. He noted that his administration had been building institutions around the objective of moving Nigeria towards a credit-based economy. The President mentioned the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Bank of Industry (BOI), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), and NCGC as components of the emerging credit architecture.
The NCGC operates by providing partial credit guarantees, sharing part of lenders’ exposure and consequently reducing the risk attached to lending to underserved businesses and consumers. The company says its guarantees typically cover up to 60 per cent of outstanding loan principal, although higher coverage may apply to some strategic categories. Tinubu said the company currently works with 19 participating financial institutions comprising 13 commercial banks, three microfinance banks, and three development finance institutions.
The President stated that beyond the volume of loans already mobilised, the businesses supported under the guarantee arrangement were estimated to account for 661,291 direct and indirect jobs. Independent reporting on NCGC’s first-year performance confirmed that 11,374 of the 67,512 beneficiaries were women. Tinubu said access to credit was important not merely because of the amount of money disbursed but because of its capacity to expand businesses, stimulate consumption, and create employment.
Tinubu said the administration considered the expansion of credit as a critical bridge between its economic reforms and opportunities available to ordinary Nigerians. He noted that credit gives Nigerians the means to build on the economic reforms laid by the administration. The President added that tens of thousands who stood outside formal credit a year ago are now inside, borrowing to grow.
The NCGC was created following a presidential mandate in August 2024 to address financing constraints confronting small businesses and underserved consumers. Tinubu pledged that his administration would continue expanding access to formal credit across the country. He stated that “we will keep widening that road until the opportunities our reforms create reach homes and businesses in every part of Nigeria.”
Key points
- The NCGC has unlocked N46.95 billion in loans for 67,512 Nigerians and businesses within its first year of operations.
- The scheme has brought more than 22,000 Nigerians into the formal credit system for the first time.
- The businesses supported under the guarantee arrangement are estimated to account for 661,291 direct and indirect jobs.
