The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $100 million loan to boost access to finance for youth and women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the Nigeria Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) initiative. This landmark initiative aims to drive economic growth and job creation by fostering collaboration among key stakeholders to support youth entrepreneurs.
As an ecosystem anchor, the YEIB will work alongside the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN). The AfDB’s $100 million investment will be complemented by an additional $25 million from the DBN and $5 million from the NSIA.
The project focuses on two main pillars: establishing the YEIB Investment Management Company and creating three support mechanisms: an Equity Investment Fund (EIF), an Ecosystem Development Fund (EDF), and a Credit Guarantee Facility (CGF). These vehicles will provide critical financial and non-financial support for youth and women-led businesses.
- The EIF will focus on early-stage and high-growth enterprises.
- The EDF will offer grants for business development services and youth-led ventures.
- The CGF, managed by Impact Credit Guarantee Limited (a DBN subsidiary), will help de-risk SMEs and improve their access to credit.
By nurturing talent and reducing risks for young entrepreneurs, the YEIB initiative aims to transform ideas into sustainable businesses, addressing Africa’s growing youth unemployment challenge. The project is expected to create over 161,000 direct jobs—40% for women—and 1.4 million indirect jobs, with 35% allocated to women. It will also support over 38,000 youth-led businesses through financial services and another 38,000 through non-financial services, ensuring at least 40% of beneficiaries are women.
Dr. Abdul Kamara, AfDB’s Director General for Nigeria, called the initiative “a game-changer” for addressing youth unemployment and closing gender gaps through targeted entrepreneurship support.
Similarly, Ahmed Attout, Director of the Bank’s Financial Sector Development Department, highlighted the systemic impact of the YEIB. “This initiative moves beyond project-based solutions to institutional approaches that position Nigerian youth entrepreneurs as a high-potential investment class,” he stated.
Nigeria’s YEIB is part of a larger effort to establish similar banks across Africa. In 2023, the AfDB approved $16 million for Liberia’s YEIB, followed by a $43 million approval in May 2024 for Ethiopia’s initiative.
This groundbreaking project is set to unleash new opportunities for Africa’s youth entrepreneurs, empowering them to drive the continent’s economic future.
