Nigeria’s push for inclusive economic growth gained momentum on Wednesday as the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) launched a N10 billion loan guarantee programme aimed at improving access to finance for women-owned businesses.

The agreement, signed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja, represents one of the major gender focused credit support initiatives introduced in recent years.

The BOI Managing Director, Dr Olasupo Olusi and the Managing Director of NCGC, Mr Bonaventure Okhaimo, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective institutions.

The scheme, known as GLOW, meaning Guaranteed Loans for Women, provides for a 25 per cent guarantee by NCGC on BOI loans.This arrangement is expected to reduce lender risk and create easier access to affordable credit for women entrepreneurs at concessionary interest rates, the two organisations said.

According to BOI, the programme would support women-led enterprises across manufacturing, ICT, digital marketing, ecommerce, healthcare, education, renewable energy, processing, waste management, and the creative industries.

Olusi said the initiative was designed to address long-standing barriers that prevent women from accessing growth capital. He said GLOW was structured to offer concessionary pricing at seven per cent, flexible collateral options and capacity building support, noting that these measures were intended to help close gender financing gaps within the MSME sector.

Olusi disclosed that the programme had already attracted significant interest, with more than 33,000 applications valued at over N65 billion currently in progress.

He said the volume of applications highlighted the scale of unmet credit needs among women-owned businesses and the importance of targeted interventions.

He also expressed that NCGC’s support, beginning with a N5 billion guarantee envelope, would enable BOI to extend credit to viable entrepreneurs who may have previously been excluded due to a lack of traditional collateral.

Also, NCGC stated that its guaranteed cover would allow women-owned MSMEs to access loans at lower interest rates and with shorter processing timelines.

The scheme also included mentorship, advisory support, and capacity building to strengthen business operations.Okhaimo assured that NCGC remained committed to improving confidence in the credit system and ensuring that more women entrepreneurs were able to secure the financing needed to expand their businesses.