{"id":117202,"date":"2025-04-09T17:33:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T16:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=117202"},"modified":"2025-04-09T17:33:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T16:33:40","slug":"nigeria-gets-230m-ecowas-funding-to-boost-rail-sector-smes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/nigeria-gets-230m-ecowas-funding-to-boost-rail-sector-smes\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Gets $230m ECOWAS Funding to Boost Rail Sector, SMEs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Daniel Adaji<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved a $230m intervention package for Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This comprises a $180m credit line for the Kano-Maradi railway project and $50m for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises\u2019 support through Sterling Bank.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This financing is part of a broader \u20ac230m and $10m package approved at the bank\u2019s 91st Ordinary Board Meeting, chaired by President and Chairman of EBID&#8217;s Board of Directors, Dr. George Donkor and disclosed in a statement on Tuesday.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>A highlight of the intervention is the $180m facility to Mota-Engil Nigeria, earmarked for the development of the Kano-Maradi standard gauge railway. This cross-border infrastructure will link northern Nigeria with the Republic of Niger, enhancing regional trade, mobility, and economic integration in West Africa.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The project is expected to generate over 100,000 jobs during its construction phase and create 20,000 permanent jobs post-completion.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>In addition, EBID approved a $50m\u00a0 line of credit to Sterling Bank Nigeria. The funds will be directed toward Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across critical sectors such as agriculture, renewable energy, health, education, and transport.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>According to the statement, this financing aligns with Nigeria\u2019s development goals and EBID\u2019s pro-SME strategy aimed at fostering inclusive economic growth.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>In addition to Nigeria\u2019s funding, the EBID board also approved a \u20ac10m facility for B\u00e9nin Cashew SA to co-finance five cashew processing plants and a balsam production unit in Benin.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The project will handle half of Benin\u2019s national cashew production and create 1,666 jobs under the country\u2019s Strategic Plan for Agricultural Development (PSDSA).<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cWith this investment, EBID\u2019s total commitments in the sub-region amount to $4.5bn,\u201d the bank said, emphasizing its dedication to sustainable financing and regional development.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>EBID noted that the interventions align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). These projects are also in line with the bank\u2019s long-term strategy to prioritize high-impact sectors that drive economic resilience and inclusive prosperity.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Nigeria is also set to benefit from a $10.5m\u00a0 grant from the World Bank to strengthen the technical capacity of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and modernize the country\u2019s domestic payment systems.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The grant, part of the CBN Technical Assistance Facility, is aimed at integrating advanced technologies into supervisory processes, improving remittance infrastructure, and enhancing the safety of digital financial transactions.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The World Bank highlighted that the project will help the CBN adopt Supervisory Technology (SupTech) systems, improve data accuracy, and enhance risk-based oversight. It will also support the transition toward a cashless economy and more secure remittance flows.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daniel Adaji The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved a $230m intervention package for Nigeria. This comprises a $180m credit line for the Kano-Maradi railway project and&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nigeria Gets $230m ECOWAS Funding to Boost Rail Sector, SMEs - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/nigeria-gets-230m-ecowas-funding-to-boost-rail-sector-smes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nigeria Gets $230m ECOWAS Funding to Boost Rail Sector, SMEs - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Daniel Adaji The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved a $230m intervention package for Nigeria. 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