Nigeria to benefit from AfDB $15m equity investment

Nigeria is set to benefit from $15 million set aside by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for equity investment in Verod Capital Growth Fund 111, a private equity fund for investments in high growth middle market companies.

National Daily gathered that aside from Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Gambia will also benefit from the investment.

The investments which will accelerate investments in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the West African region, will be imputed in companies that operates in consumer-driven sectors including light industrials, fast moving consumer goods, education, financial services and agro processing.

Speaking on the development, Abdu Mukhtar, AfDB Director of Industrial and Trade Development, said the fund is key to job and wealth creation, knowledge transfer and scaling up of local businesses.

“The Fund will provide an important vehicle to growing SMEs in Africa, which are a key pillar to the continent’s industrialization drive,” Mukhtar added, in a statement posted on the bank’s website.” Mukhtar added.

AfD had collaborated with Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) to raise $100 million for agriculture. The fund, according to the international agency, is to end hunger, malnutrition and create wealth in Nigeria and other African countries.

Furthermore, the fund was to project and enhance the impact of investment in food security, nutrition, social protection, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development.

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or Banque Africaine de Développement is a multilateral development finance institution. The AfDB comprises three entities: The African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Nigeria Trust Fund.

The institution’s mission is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent through promoting the investment of public and private capital in projects and programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and social development of the region.