N7.5 billion Nigerian bond to finance women-led SMEs
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day Nigeria
Illustrative image · Kold Shots · Pexels · Licence PexelsChapel Hill Advisory Partners has launched a N7.5 billion bond in Nigeria to finance women-owned or women-led SMEs. The five-year issue is the first bond of its kind on the Nigerian market, according to Business Day Nigeria.
Chapel Hill Advisory Partners Limited has launched a five-year N7.5 billion bond to finance women-owned or women-led SMEs and microenterprises in Nigeria, reports Business Day Nigeria. Issued by Chapel Hill Financing SPV Plc under a N250 billion debt programme, the transaction is the first gender bond on the Nigerian market.
The net proceeds will be invested by Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria SME Limited, Chapel Hill’s investment platform for SMEs using a gender-responsive approach. Beneficiaries will have to meet the platform’s eligibility criteria, the 2X criteria of 2X Global and a framework aligned with the Social Bond Principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).
FSD Africa, an organisation funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, advised Chapel Hill on the sustainable finance aspects of the issue. Agusto & Co. provided an independent second-party opinion, confirming the alignment of the bond and the portfolio of financed companies with ICMA principles.
Bolaji Balogun, chief executive of Chapel Hill, said women-owned businesses create jobs and contribute to growth in Nigeria, but face difficulties accessing long-term financing. FSD Africa presented the transaction as a means of strengthening sustainable finance and Nigeria’s capital markets.
