NCGC Unlocks ₦46.95bn Credit, Reaches 67,512 Borrowers in One Year

Michael Olugbode

The National Credit Guarantee Company Limited (NCGC) has mobilised ₦46.95 billion in credit for businesses and individuals within its first year of operations, in a major intervention aimed at breaking the cycle of limited access to finance that has continued to constrain enterprise growth and job creation in Nigeria.

The credit, channelled through participating financial institutions, reached 67,512 borrowers across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory as of August 2026, according to figures released by the company.

The milestone was achieved on the back of ₦21.59 billion in guarantee cover provided by NCGC, effectively enabling lenders to extend substantially more credit by sharing part of the risks associated with financing eligible borrowers.

The disclosure was made at the NCGC Stakeholders’ Forum 2026 in Lagos, with the theme, “Credit Guarantees as a Catalyst for Inclusive Economic Growth.”

Beyond the volume of money unlocked, NCGC said its first-year intervention had contributed to an estimated 661,291 direct and indirect jobs, pointing to the wider economic impact of expanding access to formal financing.

Perhaps more significant is the fact that 33.5 per cent of the beneficiaries—more than 22,600 borrowers—were first-time borrowers entering Nigeria’s formal credit market.

For a country where access to affordable formal credit remains a major obstacle for millions of entrepreneurs and individuals, the figure represents a significant expansion of the financial system’s reach.

NCGC Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bonaventure E. Okhaimo, said the institution’s experience in its first year had demonstrated that reducing lending risks could fundamentally alter access to capital.

“When we change the risk equation, we can change who gets access to capital,” Okhaimo said.

He stressed that the significance of NCGC’s intervention should not be measured solely by the ₦46.95 billion in credit unlocked, but also by the number of people brought into the formal financial system for the first time.

According to him, the company was created to complement, rather than displace, existing financial institutions by addressing some of the risks that traditionally make lenders reluctant to extend credit to underserved segments of the economy.

Under the arrangement, NCGC provides partial guarantees to participating financial institutions, taking on an agreed portion of qualifying credit losses while banks and other lenders retain responsibility for assessing borrowers, monitoring loans and recovering repayments.

The model is intended to make lenders more willing to finance viable enterprises that may otherwise struggle to obtain loans because they lack conventional collateral or are considered too risky.

NCGC said 19 financial institutions had so far joined the scheme, comprising 13 commercial banks, three microfinance banks and three development finance institutions.

The company also disclosed that women-owned businesses were among the major beneficiaries of its credit intervention, with 11,374 female-owned enterprises accessing NCGC-backed financing as of August.

The gender component is expected to become even more prominent in the next phase of the programme through GuaranteeHer, NCGC’s dedicated credit guarantee initiative for women-owned and women-led businesses.

Under the initiative, NCGC plans to mobilise more than ₦100 billion in financing for over 20,000 women-owned businesses over five years, with an estimated 150,000 direct and indirect jobs expected to be supported.

Okhaimo said the programme was designed to provide women entrepreneurs with the capital required to expand their businesses and compete more effectively, rather than treating financing as a form of charity.

The company’s intervention comes at a time when access to finance remains one of the most persistent challenges confronting Nigeria’s micro, small and medium enterprises, which play a central role in employment, household incomes and economic activity.

NCGC said its ₦100 billion initial capital base also provides significant headroom for expansion, noting that only part of the capital had so far been deployed as guarantee cover.

This, the company said, leaves room for the institution to scale its guarantees and attract significantly larger volumes of private-sector financing into productive economic activities.

Established with Federal Government backing, NCGC commenced operations on July 1, 2025, with a mandate to expand access to finance for eligible businesses, MSMEs and consumers through partial credit guarantees, co-guarantees and technical assistance.

With its first-year figures, the institution is seeking to demonstrate that the challenge of credit access in Nigeria may not be solved simply by injecting more money into the financial system, but by changing the risk-sharing structure that determines who lenders are willing to finance.

If sustained and scaled, the guarantee model could provide a critical bridge between Nigeria’s vast pool of underserved entrepreneurs and the formal financial system, unlocking capital for businesses capable of driving investment, employment and broader economic growth.