(Ecofin Agency) - The financing is announced one month after Access Bank unveiled plans to acquire Kenyan bank Sidian. 

U.S Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently signed a US$280 million commitment letter to Nigeria’s Access Bank Plc. The financing, a loan precisely, will be used to fund local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The loan "will boost financial inclusion in Nigeria and empower women entrepreneurs, bolstering the country’s economic growth," said Scott Nathan, CEO of DFC. 

The financing comes nearly a month after Access Bank announced plans to acquire Kenyan commercial bank Sidian Bank to strengthen its position in the East African banking market.

The loan will be on-lent across more than a dozen sectors of the Nigerian economy, with a particular focus on women-owned SMEs, non-oil sectors, and longer-term lending. Thanks to the financing, Access Bank plc is expected to support at least 4,000 new SMEs in Nigeria. It will provide those businesses with much-needed liquidity in a context marked by a global economic downturn fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Chamberline MOKO