Abuja, June 7, 2024 – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is to partner the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to strengthen private sector growth in Nigeria.
Olayemi Cardoso, the CBN Governor, disclosed this after a visit of the IFC delegation led by its Managing Director, Mr. Makhtar Diop.
He said the partnership was a major area of discussion during the visit of the IFC delegation.
“The leadership of the CBN and IFC held a significant meeting to discuss strategies for supporting Nigeria as part of the IFC’s mandate to bridge the infrastructure gap, build productive industries, and foster inclusive business approaches.
“A key focus of the meeting was identifying areas to support private sector growth in Nigeria, including expanding access to credit, facilitating trade of receivables for SMEs, and promoting local currency liquidity enhancement solutions between the CBN and the IFC,” he said.
Caroso said both institutions would aim to invigorate Nigeria’s banking industry by fostering the development of financial products that meet the country’s needs and catalyse the financial ecosystem.
“This includes advancing initiatives that Nigerian banks can readily adopt, he said.
The IFC is a member of the World Bank whose mandate is private sector development.
Nigeria holds the second-largest IFC portfolio in Africa with an active investment portfolio of $2.1 billion as at April 2024. (GBN)
