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Tag: British International Investment

  • British firm, FCMB boost MSMEs in North with $50m

    British firm, FCMB boost MSMEs in North with $50m

    British International Investment (BII) and First City Monument Bank (FCMB, yesterday announced a $50 million credit facility aimed at driving growth and economic inclusion for Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

    Under the partnership, BII will provide the credit facility to FCMB for onward lending to MSMEs. 70per cent of the facility is dedicated to financing MSMEs in northern Nigeria, an area that is historically underserved by capital providers.

     The remaining 30 per cent will be directed towards empowering women-owned businesses nationwide.

    It will bridge the funding gap faced by MSMEs, in sectors critical for economic growth such as agriculture, trade and manufacturing. It will also promote financial inclusion by reaching underserved communities, foster innovation and strengthen the economic fabric of northern Nigeria.

    Nigeria’s MSMEs drive the economy, contributing over 50 per cent to GDP and more than 80per cent of jobs. Many, especially in underserved regions, lack affordable financing. This partnership bridges that gap to catalyse jobs, innovation, and sustainable growth.

    In addition to access to capital, the initiative also supports internal capacity-building programmes and provides more refined market-opportunity assessments to drive growth.

    Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, FCMB, Yemisi Edun, said: “Our partnership with British International Investment strengthens our ability to channel resources where they matter most, deepen financial access for underserved groups, and create pathways for long-term economic participation across the country. As of September 2025, we provided over ₦533 billion credit lines to thousands of businesses nationwide.”

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    She added that the facility expands the bank’s capacity to finance MSMEs, particularly in northern Nigeria and women-led businesses nationwide. By widening access to capital, FCMB is enabling entrepreneurs to create jobs, drive innovation, and strengthen local industries. The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to building economic resilience in disadvantaged communities.

    British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, said: “This investment is one of many examples of the UK’s commitment to partnering with Nigeria to drive inclusive growth and mutual prosperity. By empowering Nigerian SMEs, particularly those in underserved regions, we are not only creating jobs and driving inclusion but also strengthening the foundations for deeper UK-Nigeria trade and investment partnerships now and in the future. In addition, by supporting FCMB to innovate its approach to deploying finance, this investment will help catalyse systemic change in how SMEs are financed across Nigeria.”

    Managing Director and Head of Africa at BII, Chris Chijiutomi, said: “We are delighted to partner with FCMB to directly address long-standing barriers to financial access, empowering Nigerian entrepreneurs who have faced significant challenges in securing affordable financing. Through this investment, we are unlocking opportunities for businesses particularly in Northern Nigeria where our support is needed most. This aligns with our commitment to supporting MSMEs and women-led businesses that are key to creating jobs and accelerating inclusive prosperity across Nigeria.”

    The partnership between BII and FCMB aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 5 (gender equality) and 8 (decent work and economic growth).

  • British firm commits £1.09b to African companies

    British firm commits £1.09b to African companies

    British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, yesterday announced that it had committed £1.09 billion to African companies in 2024 to create jobs, reduce aid dependency and combat climate emergency.

    The £1.09 billion sum was nearly 40 per cent more than its 2023 total of £725 million, despite the difficult investment environment caused by macroeconomic headwinds.

    BII’s total net assets increased to £9.9 billion (£8.5 billion in 2023) while post-tax profits improved to £213.3 million compared with a £44 million loss in 2023.

    The figures are contained in BII’s Annual Review, which indicated that about 62 per cent of investments were made in African companies, while businesses in Asia received 36 per cent (£626 million).

    Commitments to companies with operations in both continents, according to BII’s Annual Review, received £29 million.

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    In total, BII invested $903 million (£708 million) in climate finance in 2024 – 41 per cent of its overall commitments for the year. This compares with just $104 million (£80 million) in 2020.

    The company’s climate finance assets now make up over 26 per cent of its entire portfolio, up from just over 15 per cent in 2020. Over the last three years, BII has invested over $2 billion in climate finance.

    Based on all direct renewable energy investments in BII’s 2023 portfolio, 1.5 million tons of CO2e emissions were avoided on an attributed basis, a 54 per cent year-on-year increase.

    This was driven by a growing renewable asset base in the portfolio and increases in the amount of renewable power produced.

    BII also made £499 million of gender finance commitments in 2024 and £880 million of commitments to the poorer and most fragile countries across the regions where it invests.

    Managing Director and Head of Africa at BII, Chris Chijiutomi, said: “BII is a trusted and long-term partner to African nations and the continent’s world class community of entrepreneurs and business leaders.

    “Our 2024 investment performance demonstrates our unwavering commitment to supporting African companies at a time when investment to create quality jobs, reduce aid dependency and meet the challenge of the climate emergency has never been more vital.”

    Introducing the 2024 Annual Review, Chair of BII, Diana Layfield, said: “In a constrained financial environment, BII’s ability to put capital to work repeatedly to secure development impact, while also delivering a financial return for the UK taxpayer, is particularly valuable.

    “In an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical environment, our investments – which support emerging economies to grow, create jobs, and develop sustainable infrastructure to mitigate climate change and its impacts – are critically important.”

    BII invests in businesses in developing countries to improve people’s lives and help protect the planet. Its work targets the underlying causes of poverty and the climate crisis, helping countries break free from aid dependency for good.

    Between 2022 and 2026, at least 30 per cent of BII’s total new commitments by value will be in climate finance. BII is also a founding member of the 2X Challenge which has raised over $33.6 billion to empower women’s economic development.

    The company has investments in over 1,600 businesses across 70 countries and total net assets of £9.87 billion.

  • British International Investment commits $75m to green bond

    British International Investment commits $75m to green bond

    British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, has committed $75 million to the second green basket bond arranged by Symbiotics Investments, a leading emerging markets access platform and financial lender.

    The green lending programme will increase financing to small-scale green projects across Africa, South and South-East Asia through MSME lenders, with a particular focus on India. It will support new MSME lenders not included in the first Green Basket Bond.

    Following the success of the first Green Basket Bond issued in 2022, this programme will continue to leverage Symbiotics’ global network, and BII’s 76-year track record as an impact investor, to support an additional 10 – 15 MSME lenders who require smaller investment capital than BII is typically able to fund directly.

    The MSME lenders will direct their lending to small businesses that usually find it difficult to access funding, and even more so for green projects. As with the first green basket bond, funding will be provided to green projects that span renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, green buildings, agriculture, forestry and more.

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    Managing Director and Head of Financial Services, British International Investment, Samir Abhyankar, said: “Partnering with Symbiotics on a second green basket bond signifies a continued commitment to empowering smaller financial institutions and supporting sustainable development in climate-vulnerable regions.

    Channelling capital to where it is most needed, not only supports local businesses and projects but also contributes to global efforts in building resilience against climate change. The expansion of this programme is a testament to the positive impact and success of the initial partnership. We look forward to continuing working with Symbiotics to further efforts to mobilise more private capital into this space.”

    CEO of Symbiotics Investments, Yvan Renaud added: “We are very grateful to British International Investment for partnering with Symbiotics on this second green basket bond. We share the view that financing dedicated MSME lenders and reaching smaller local businesses and projects strongly contributes to the effectiveness of climate finance. We hope that this second green basket bond will have a catalytic effect on the mobilisation of capital for similar projects that play a key role in successfully tackling climate change and its consequences.”

    The first Green Basket Bond supported 11 MSME lenders in India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Tunisia, Botswana, Kenya, Bangladesh and Nepal.

    This Green Basket Bond issuance contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7) on Affordable and Clean Energy and (SDG 13) on Climate Action.