The European Investment Bank Global and First City Monument Bank have agreed an €85 million financing facility to support private-sector firms across Nigeria’s agricultural value chains, with at least 70% earmarked for cocoa and dairy.
The agreement was announced during the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Bangkok, in the presence of EIB Group President Nadia Calviño, Nigeria’s finance minister Taiwo Oyedele, EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela and FCMB chief executive Yemisi Edun.
The EIB said in a release on Wednesday that the operation is its first investment covering the dairy sector outside the European Union.
In cocoa — one of Nigeria’s major export crops — the funding provided through FCMB will support industrial processing capacity across the value chain, provide liquidity for cocoa co-operatives and farmers, and improve product traceability.
Traceability refers to being able to track where cocoa comes from and how it moves through the supply chain.
The EIB added that compliance with the EU Regulation on Deforestation would be ensured as part of the cocoa-related investments.
Technical assistance and past investment
Alongside the credit line, EIB Global is providing technical assistance to support FCMB’s climate action strategy and to help the Nigerian agriculture sector manage environmental and social risks.
“The EIB Group invests in agricultural value chains in Africa — main drivers of food security and economic growth,” Calviño emphasised.
The facility will provide long-term funding for businesses in Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy value chains to increase production, expand processing capacity and reach new markets, Edun said.
The EIB Group has invested €2.3 billion in Nigeria since it began operating in the country in 1978.
