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First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has partnered with the European Investment Bank Group’s international development arm, EIB Global, to provide €85 million in financing for agricultural businesses in Nigeria.
The funding is designed to strengthen agricultural value chains, with at least 70 per cent of the facility dedicated to cocoa and dairy production. The initiative aims to improve productivity, expand local processing and create fresh economic opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses.
The agreement was announced during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand. Key officials present included Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele; EIB Group President Nadia Calviño; EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle; European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela; and FCMB Chief Executive Officer, Yemisi Edun.
Under the arrangement, cocoa farmers, cooperatives and processing businesses are expected to benefit from improved access to financing. The investment will support processing capacity, provide liquidity for farmers and cooperatives, and strengthen systems for tracing cocoa products throughout the supply chain. It will also promote compliance with environmental standards, including European Union regulations on deforestation.
The dairy sector is another major beneficiary of the initiative, which is intended to address gaps in milk production and supply. The investment represents EIB Global’s first financing operation covering the dairy sector outside the European Union, highlighting efforts to expand sustainable agricultural production and strengthen business partnerships in Nigeria.
Edun said access to long-term financing could help agricultural businesses increase output, process more products locally and reach new markets. She added that combining financial support with technical assistance would help improve rural livelihoods and build a more resilient agricultural sector.
Beyond the funding, EIB Global will provide technical support to strengthen FCMB’s climate action strategy and improve the agricultural sector’s capacity to manage environmental and social risks. The partnership forms part of the European Union’s Global Gateway investment strategy, which seeks to encourage sustainable development, strengthen economic cooperation and promote private-sector growth. The EIB Group said it had invested €2.3 billion in Nigeria since beginning operations in the country in 1978.
