NCGC says its guarantees unlocked ₦46.95bn in loans in first year

President Bola Tinubu said the National Credit Guarantee Company, NCGC, helped unlock ₦46.95 billion in loans for individuals and businesses in its first year of operation.

The president disclosed the figures on Monday. According to reports by Vanguard and Premium Times, the NCGC issued ₦21.59 billion in loan guarantees that enabled participating lenders to extend credit to 67,512 borrowers across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The two outlets reported that, on the basis of the guarantees, about ₦2.17 in credit was drawn for every ₦1 guaranteed, producing the N46.95 billion total.

Women accounted for 11,374 of the beneficiaries, roughly 16.8 percent, the reports said. The NCGC began operations in July 2025, according to the accounts.

The Premium Times report added detail on the scheme’s partners and reach. It said Mr Tinubu stated that the NCGC currently works with 19 financial institutions, made up of 13 commercial banks, three microfinance banks and three development finance institutions, and that 33.5 percent of beneficiaries were first-time borrowers to the formal credit system. That figure implies more than 22,000 people accessed formal loans for the first time through NCGC-backed facilities.

Premium Times also reported the NCGC estimates businesses supported by the intervention account for 661,291 direct and indirect jobs. The outlet said the company is emphasising women-owned and women-led businesses through a GuaranteeHer initiative, which it reported is targeting more than ₦100 billion in financing for over 20,000 women-owned businesses over five years and is expected to support more than 150,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The same report described the guarantee model as one in which the NCGC absorbs an agreed portion of the risk on qualifying loans while participating financial institutions retain responsibility for assessing borrowers, monitoring facilities and recovering repayments.

President Tinubu framed the results as evidence the government’s economic reforms are translating into finance access for households and firms. He said, “We will keep widening that road until the opportunities our reforms create reach homes and businesses in every part of Nigeria.”

The Vanguard article is available at Vanguard. The Premium Times report is at Premium Times.

Featured image: Nosa Asemota via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.