United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and German development finance institution, Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), have partnered to support SMEs in Nigeria.
The institutions have signed a $50 million term-facility agreement with a tenor of six years to support small both small and family-owned businesses.
Chief Executive Officer, UBA America, Sola Yomi-Ajayi, said UBA Group was proud of the collaboration with DEG, particularly as it supports financial intervention in the SME space, enabling financial inclusion, as well as facilitating economic empowerment.
“These objectives remain core aspects of our strategy, particularly as regards to facilitating the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals on the African continent,” Yomi-Ajayi said.
Regional Director, West Africa, DEG, Bernhard Tilemann, said the development finance institution was delighted to enter into a long-term cooperation with UBA in Nigeria and the region.
According to Tilemann, the funding provided by DEG is partly supported by EB-SME Finance Fund Emerging Markets, while the fund’s adviser is a 100 pe r cent subsidiary of Evangelische Bank (EB).
Tilemann noted that DEG has offices on the African continent in Lagos, Abidjan, Johannesburg and Nairobi; and pointed out that the move is a major milestone for DEG’s Regional Representative Office in Lagos which was opened in 2019.
