The European Investment Bank and United Bank
for Africa (UBA) have agreed a new EUR 60 million lending programme to support
private sector investment across Nigeria. This represents the EIB’s largest
ever loan to UBA and will allow UBA to provide longer term loans than currently
available to private companies in Nigeria.
The new private sector lending programme was formally agreed on the side-lines of the World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC by Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the European Investment Bank and Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director and Sola Yomi-Ajayi. Head of Global Financial Institutions at UBA.
"Private sector investment is crucial for creating jobs and ensuring sustainable economic growth. The European Investment Bank is committed to unlocking investment across Africa and we are pleased to build on past success to strengthen our partnership with UBA that will benefit projects across Nigeria." said Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the European Investment Bank.
Speaking
at the signing ceremony, Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director, UBA
said "Our growing partnership with
the European Investment Bank underlines our long term objective of facilitating
the development and growth of African businesses. This facility will
enable UBA bridge critical financing gaps for Nigerian companies and deepen our
capacity to support their growth aspirations in the local and international
market place."
Ambassador
Michel Arrion, Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS,
described the programme as an example of the catalytic role the EU and its
institutions like the EIB are playing to support Nigeria's economic
development. "We look forward to more fruitful partnerships with Nigeria,
and particularly with the private sector, which remains the engine of economic growth".
This
represents the first Nigerian operation under the European Investment Bank’s
new dedicated Nigeria Private Enterprise Investment Facility, a wider million
lending scheme intended to support private sector investment in the country.
Under the new initiative private sector entrepreneurs and companies will be
able to use loans with a longer tenor than traditionally available to invest
and expand activities across a range of sectors.
The
new loan will also fund capital expenditure by UBA to strengthen their support
for private investment, through expansion of their branch network and improving
information technology.
The
European Investment Bank has supported infrastructure and private sector
investment in Nigeria since 1978.
The
European Investment Bank is the world’s largest international public bank and
over the last five years has provided EUR 12.8 billion for investment across
Africa.
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