Our investment
Description of the investment.
Description of the investment.
The syndicated tier II was led by FMO and includes other DFIs and impact investors to strengthen Access Bank’s capital base. This will support SMEs, including women and youth, to improve their access to finance. We also support Access Bank to further strengthen the implementation of its environmental and social (E&S) management system.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
|---|
Improve economic opportunities but increasing access to credit to firms, particularly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). |
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How?
| How? |
|---|
|
Investing in a systemically important financial institution in Nigeria, our capital will enable the bank to meet a targeted capital buffer over regulatory requirements, supporting the bank as it implements its overall strategy (incl. growing all business and customer segments). Further the capital buffer will be directed 50% to general SME loans (loan size of USD 10k –1m) and the remainder towards a combination of microenterprises (loan size < USD 10k) and Underserved SMEs in specific groups such as agriculture, women-owned and youth-owned. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| MSME owners and employees |
Nigeria |
MSMEs are expected to be across sectors, primarily in general commerce. The proceeds will not be directed to oil & gas in line with BII’s fossil fuel policy. There is limited visibility of the characteristics of the end stakeholder given the long impact chain. |
How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
|
This tier 2 is expected to create a capital buffer that could result in additional lending. |
Depth: Variable given the nature of the stakeholders. Duration: will at least be the tenor of the sub-loans but expect is expected to last beyond that. |
Contribution/additionality
| Contribution/additionality |
|---|
|
Capital is unavailable in sufficient quantity given limited interest from commercial investors to provide tier 2 capital. |
Risk
External RiskMacroeconomic challenges and regulatory requirements limiting the expected scale of impact on MSMEs. Our impact targets have taken this context into account; any residual risk will need to be tolerated. Evidence RiskGiven the intermediated impact chain, we will have limited visibility of the impact of the end stakeholder. However, we will monitor size, sector, and gender of the MSMEs to better understand impact. Alignment RiskRisk that the bank does not lend to the target MSME segments. We have conducted extensive due diligence on the bank's strategic direction and are confident of the use of proceeds. Historical track record also demonstrates the bank’s commitment to lend to the real economy and MSMEs. We will require periodic reporting on the MSME portfolio growth. Should the bank not grow this segment, we cannot trigger prepayment given the nature of tier 2 loans, so the residual risk will need to be tolerated. |
Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
We assessed Access Bank's approach E&S risk management and Human Resources policies and procedures. These were found satisfactory and no ESAP was required for the investment.
Environmental and social risk
High
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to reportsandcomplaints@bii.co.uk or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at enquiries@bii.co.uk
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Key facts
- First published
:
When the investment was first published on the website database.
- December 2024
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- December 2024
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D6592
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Active
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- West Africa
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- Nigeria
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Financial services
- Sub sector
:
The sub-sector that the investment is made into; this provides a more granular level of detail than the ‘sector’ information
- Banks
- Investment type :
- Debt
- Start date :
- July 2024
- Amount :
- $50m
- Currency of investment :
- USD
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- Nigeria
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- 2X Gender Finance
:
Indicates whether the investment is ‘2X qualified’ using the 2X Challenge criteria. You can find out more here. It only applies to investments made from 2018 onwards, when the 2X Challenge was first launched.
- Partially qualified
- First published
Related investments made by BII into this company:
| Investment name | Commitment | Region | Sector | Start date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment 01 | $25m | West Africa | Financial services | January 2019 | Exited |
| Investment 02 | $60m | West AfricaWest Africa | Financial services | May 2023 | Active |
