By Adedapo Adesanya
A $130 million loan will be provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) under the Nigeria Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) initiative to increase access to finance for youth and women-led small and medium enterprises.
Business Post reports that the Nigeria YEIB is a pioneering institution designed to foster economic growth and job creation in the country by acting as an ecosystem anchor and convener, bringing together relevant financial and non-financial stakeholders to collaborate more effectively in support of youth entrepreneurs.
The AfDB is leading the coordination among key Nigeria YEIB anchor investors and partners, including the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, NSIA, and DBN.
The breakdown of the $130 million shows that the AfDB will invest the lion’s share of $100 million bolstered by an additional $25 million from DBN and $5 million from NSIA.
The Nigeria YEIB project aims to create over 161,000 direct jobs, 40 per cent of which will be for women, and 1.4 million indirect jobs, with 35 per cent allocated to women.
It will also support more than 38,000 youth-led enterprises through financial services, and an additional 38,000 through non-financial services, with at least 40 per cent of beneficiaries being women.
Based on two main pillars, the project will establish the YEIB Investment Management Company to oversee three special purpose vehicles – an Equity Investment Fund (EIF), an Ecosystem Development Fund (EDF), and a Credit Guarantee Facility (CGF) – and create these vehicles to support youth and women-led businesses.
The EIF will invest in early-stage and high-growth enterprises, while the EDF will provide grants for business development service providers and reimbursable grants to youth-led businesses.
The CGF will offer risk mitigation to improve access to credit for SMEs, managed by the Development Bank of Nigeria’s subsidiary, Impact Credit Guarantee Limited.
By de-risking young entrepreneurs and fostering talent, the YEIB initiative aims to provide the patient capital and ecosystem support needed to turn ideas into sustainable businesses, offering a long-term solution to Africa’s youth unemployment crisis.
Speaking on this development, AfDB’s Director General for Nigeria, Mr Abdul Kamara, emphasised the transformative nature of the project.
“This initiative will be a game-changer for Nigeria’s economy, addressing youth unemployment and closing gender gaps through targeted entrepreneurship support,” he said.
On his part, the Director of the bank’s Financial Sector Development Department, Mr Ahmed Attout, said, “The YEIB is a transformative initiative that moves beyond project-based approaches to systemic, institutional solutions for entrepreneurship development across all sectors.
“By positioning Nigerian youth entrepreneurs as a high-potential investment asset class, it brings together key stakeholders to unlock financial opportunities, open new avenues for public and private sector investors, and tackle the structural challenges facing young entrepreneurs.”
Modupe Gbadeyanka