NACCIMA and Germany’s ODDO BHF SE have opened a $150 million loan facility for Nigerian big businesses. Minimum loan size is $10 million, repayment runs at least 7.5 years, and interest stays single-digit. To qualify, a company needs three years of audited accounts, ESG compliance, and verified membership of NACCIMA or a partner body like MAN, NASME, or NASSI. Beneficiaries must spend 35 to 50 per cent of the loan on European equipment. The first round will pick only 15 companies within a 60-day window. This is built for established, mid-to-large businesses, not small enterprises or startups.
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture just opened applications for a $150 million loan. NACCIMA is working with ODDO BHF SE, a German bank based in Frankfurt, to give Nigerian companies money to expand and buy modern equipment. NACCIMA’s president, Engr. Jani Ibrahim, confirmed this in a statement over the weekend.
Before you rush to apply sha, know this: the smallest amount any company can borrow is $10 million. This is not for the small shop or startup down your street. It’s built for manufacturers, agro-processors, energy and logistics companies, and a few other sectors that already move serious money through their books.
What the loan actually offers
Companies that qualify can borrow starting from $10 million, with a repayment period of at least seven and a half years. The interest rate stays in single digits, which is a big deal in Nigeria right now, where local bank loans often charge crazy high interest that eats into whatever profit a business makes.
There’s a catch, though. Between 35 and 50 per cent of whatever a company borrows must go into buying machinery, equipment, or technical services from Europe. The rest can be spent in Nigeria or other markets NACCIMA approves. So this isn’t cash a company can move around however it likes. It’s tied to buying European equipment, which NACCIMA calls “technology transfer.”
Who can actually apply
This is where most small businesses get filtered out. To qualify, a company needs at least three years of audited financial statements, not projections, not a business plan pitch, but real audited accounts going three years back.
On top of that, the business has to prove it can repay the loan, meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, and be a verified, paid-up member of NACCIMA or one of its partner bodies, such as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, or the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists.
Manufacturing is a priority sector, though not defence-related manufacturing. Agro-allied processing, energy, logistics, mineral beneficiation, and transportation made the list too. NACCIMA has also set aside 20 per cent of the entire $150 million just for digital economy and ICT businesses, so tech companies with the right size and paperwork have a real shot as well.
How the application works
NACCIMA built a digital portal for this, with bank-level encryption and automatic Know-Your-Customer checks, so applicants don’t have to worry about their financial details leaking. When the facility was first unveiled in mid-July at the Nigeria Infrastructure Conference in Abuja, NACCIMA said the application window would run for 60 days, with a goal of picking just 15 companies from this first round. Those 15 will then go through final credit checks by ODDO BHF SE in Germany before any money changes hands.
Dr Waheed Olagunju, who chairs the joint NACCIMA-ODDO committee and used to run the Bank of Industry, described it as a transparent, globally aligned investment pipeline. In plain terms, NACCIMA wants this to be the kind of clean, well-documented process that makes foreign investors trust Nigerian businesses enough to keep sending money their way.
Our take
If your company already exports, or is big enough to have three years of audited accounts and can absorb a $10 million loan, this is worth chasing. Single-digit interest on that kind of money doesn’t come around often in Nigeria.
But if you’re a small business owner hoping for quick funding, this facility isn’t for you, and applying will only waste your time. Look instead at Bank of Industry’s SME schemes, or the smaller grants and funds we cover regularly on this site. NACCIMA’s affiliated bodies, like NASME and NASSI, sometimes run their own smaller-ticket programmes for members, so joining one of those associations could still open doors even where this particular facility is out of reach.
To apply, eligible companies should reach out through NACCIMA directly, or through their affiliated chamber, and go through the digital portal NACCIMA has set up for this facility.
