NCGC says N64bn in guaranteed loans has reached 174,495 Nigerians
- The National Credit Guarantee Company has backed ₦64.13bn in bank loans with ₦30.19bn in guarantees since it began work.
- Its chief executive said 22,616 small businesses and individuals got bank loans for the first time, with women at 42.7 per cent.
- The company says no partner bank has yet filed a claim for a defaulted loan.
A federal company set up to help Nigerians who cannot meet bank collateral demands says it has now backed ₦64.13 billion in loans, using ₦30.19 billion of its own guarantees as of 21 October 2026.
The National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) gave the figures on Tuesday at a briefing at the State House in Abuja. Its managing director and chief executive, Bonaventure Okhaimo, said 174,495 people across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory have benefited through 19 partner financial institutions.
Of that number, 22,616 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) got a bank loan for the first time, and women made up 42.7 per cent of beneficiaries.
Why it matters for small businesses
Many Nigerian businesses are turned down for loans because banks want collateral worth more than the money being borrowed. The NCGC does not lend directly. Instead, it covers up to 60 per cent of the risk on a loan, so the bank is more willing to lend to a business it would otherwise reject.
Okhaimo put it simply: for every ₦1 of guarantee, about ₦2 in loans is created. He said the scheme was set up on President Bola Tinubu's instruction that a viable business should not fail just because it has no collateral.
The company also said its interventions are linked to 914,791 jobs, made up of 175,481 direct jobs reported by the banks and about 739,310 indirect jobs estimated using development finance multipliers. Those indirect figures are estimates, not a count of actual workers.
On defaults, the executive director for risk management, Utezike Loseni, said no partner bank has filed a claim for payment so far. He said any valid claim would be settled within 30 days once the conditions are met.
Okhaimo was careful on interest rates. He said the guarantees target the risk premium banks add to loans, which could pull rates down over time, but the NCGC does not set rates because it is not the lender. He said the company is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on possible capital relief for guaranteed loans.
He also stressed that a guarantee is not a grant. Borrowers must run viable businesses and repay.
Women and youth
Under its Guarantee Her scheme, launched on 29 July 2026, the company covers up to 70 per cent of qualifying loans to women-owned businesses, against the usual 60 per cent. It targets more than ₦100 billion in lending to at least 20,000 women-owned enterprises over five years, with loans of up to ₦50 million per borrower.
Only 7,731 young Nigerians have benefited so far, a figure Okhaimo called too low. He said the company wants young people to make up at least 40 per cent of beneficiaries.
The NCGC was set up on 29 May 2025 and licensed by the CBN on 9 August 2025. It started with ₦100 billion in capital, shared equally by the Bank of Industry, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation. The company says that capital can support a guarantee portfolio of up to ₦1 trillion.
What happens next: The company says growth will depend on signing up more banks and making more businesses aware of the scheme. It is also in talks with the CBN on rules that could make guaranteed loans cheaper for banks to hold.
