If you’ve been following Nigeria’s financial news, you may have heard about another loan request that was recently approved. Understandably, given the country’s history with debt, this has generated some noise, so we decided to get into the gist of what it’s all about.
On June 22, 2023, the World Bank approved a new $500 million loan for the Nigerian government. The loan is for the Nigeria for Women Program Scale Up (NFWP-SU). According to Punch, this is the second loan the World Bank has approved under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The loan initially got approval on June 27, 2018, with part financing to the tune of $100 million.
[Nigeria for Women Project / World Bank]
So what’s the loan for?
The receiving agency for this loan is the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. According to the World Bank, the NFWP-SU programme will help ensure better economic opportunities for women, address gender inequality, guarantee better education, health, and nutrition outcomes for families, and build women’s and communities’ resilience to climate change.
This programme builds on the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP). Based on the initial $100 million tranche the FG received in 2018, the World Bank says it shows promising signs, which have led it to approve this $500 million loan.
According to the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, “NFWP’s model is helping to improve women’s livelihood opportunities, enhancing their capacity to adapt to climate change, and participating in local administrations for policymaking related to community empowerment.”
He added, “Closing the gender gap in key economic sectors could yield between $9.3 billion and $22.9 billion,” and that the World Bank is optimistic that this scale-up will help Nigeria move closer to bridging this gap.
What else should you know?
In a recent press release, the World Bank disclosed that the beneficiaries of this programme are economically disadvantaged and vulnerable women in “Women Affinity Groups” (WAG). It says that since 2018, it has been implemented in six states across Nigeria. The World Bank supports over 427,887 WAG members by forming and strengthening 20,506 of these groups.
In approximately two years, the World Bank says these WAGs have saved about ₦4 billion ($8.9 million equivalent). It disclosed that a significant percentage of these funds are utilised as loans at any given time. So far, 835,573 community members have benefited from the NFWP through various interventions.
The loan was provided with support from the International Development Association (IDA).
However, a few things remain unclear, like the payback period and the loan terms. It’s also unclear who will head the new ministry to disburse the funds. So far, there isn’t a ministerial cabinet. Whoever that person is, all eyes will be on them.
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