Business growth accelerator Cascador has partnered with Sterling Bank to launch a $200 million SME Credit Backstop Fund aimed at helping more Nigerian small and medium sized businesses gain access to growth capital.
The initiative is designed for debt ready businesses with proven traction and is expected to strengthen the ability of participating financial partners to provide larger and longer term loans.
According to the partners, the credit backstop will provide additional protection to participating lenders while supporting up to $1 billion in outstanding credit capacity.
Cascador Chief Executive Officer, Trish Thomas, said the initiative was created to address one of the major challenges facing businesses in Nigeria: access to capital that matches their stage of growth and ambitions.
Thomas said Nigeria has significant entrepreneurial talent and innovation, but many businesses with strong potential continue to struggle to secure the financing required to expand their operations and create jobs.
She explained that the SME Credit Backstop Fund would help bridge that gap by combining capital and experience from across the business ecosystem and creating a more practical route to debt financing for businesses that have already demonstrated their potential.
“By sharing risk with lenders, and translating community trust into a bankable signal to lend, the fund can help more businesses access what they need to scale and create jobs,” Thomas said.
Sterling Bank Group Executive, Obinna Ukachukwu, said the initiative goes beyond providing lenders with additional protection through the credit backstop.
He explained that the programme also brings together businesses recommended by participating venture funds and studios that have worked closely with the companies and understand their development.
According to Ukachukwu, having a stronger pipeline of businesses, combined with structured assessment and continuous monitoring, gives lenders greater confidence to provide financing on a larger scale and for longer periods.
“As a lending partner, we see the potential for this arrangement to bolster SME lending, helping proven businesses access the capital they need to scale,” he said.
The partners believe the initiative could strengthen financing opportunities for established Nigerian SMEs while encouraging business expansion, job creation and broader economic activity.
