National credit guarantee company facilitates 64 billion naira in loans
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The National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) facilitated 64.13 billion Naira in loans to Nigerian businesses and individuals within 14 months of starting operations.
Dr Bonaventure Okhaimo, the chief executive officer of the company, announced the figures during a media event in Abuja. The organization uses a credit guarantee model where it assumes up to 60 per cent of the credit risk on eligible loans.
This allows 19 participating financial institutions to provide credit to borrowers who lack the traditional collateral that banks usually demand. The intervention has reached more than 170,000 beneficiaries and supported approximately 914,791 direct and indirect jobs. Among the participants, 22,616 Nigerians accessed bank loans for the first time, with women making up 42.7 per cent of that group.
Okhaimo noted that the company does not lend money directly but instead provides the guarantees that encourage banks to lend to viable businesses that were previously excluded from the formal financial system. To further support specific groups, the company launched the GuaranteeHer initiative in 2026 to provide financing for women-owned enterprises. This scheme increases credit guarantee coverage to 70 per cent for eligible women-owned businesses for loans up to 50 million Naira.
While the company aims to increase youth participation to 40 per cent, Okhaimo acknowledged that high interest rates remain a challenge for borrowers. The company is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria to explore regulatory capital relief to help lower these borrowing costs.
