news - FNB and FMO partner to increase lending to SMEs in South Africa

FMO and First National Bank (FNB) South Africa announce the signing of a USD 50mln (in local currency, ZAR 847.29 mln) NASIRA facility, to increase lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa, across a wide range of sectors.  

The NASIRA program is a risk-sharing facility for emerging and frontier market financial institutions, providing an innovative way of unlocking support to small entrepreneurs. The NASIRA program is supported by the European Union and MASSIF, the financial inclusion fund FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch government.

The signing took place in the thriving heart of Soweto, one of the most well-known streets in South Africa, Vilakazi Street, the only street in the world that can claim to have had two Nobel Laureates as residents - the late Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Honoring the entrepreneurial spirit of this famous street, the signing included a ‘vendor market’ focussed on engaging FNB clients, particularly small businesses, showcasing the new possibilities FNB has to offer.

Getting access to the right funding at the right time

“Getting access to the right funding at the right time, can be crucial to enabling a business to succeed – whether the funding was needed to restock (to meet client demand), or to hire more staff (to complete an important project), or purchase more income producing assets. Our partnership with FMO complements our strategy as we continue forging ahead in broadening the funding solutions available to small businesses,” said Andiswa Bata, FNB Business CEO.  

FMO is highly committed to advancing financial inclusion

“FMO is highly committed to advancing financial inclusion, and we constantly look for new innovative ways to do so. We thank FNB for their trust and for taking this step toward including more small entrepreneurs in their business model under the NASIRA program. We are also grateful to the European Commission; without its continuous support, the NASIRA program would not be possible,’’ said Huib-Jan de Ruijter, Co-Chief Investment Officer at FMO.

The NASIRA program is a prime example of the European Union's Global Gateway investments

“The NASIRA program is a prime example of the European Union's Global Gateway investments for economic growth, job creation, and public-private collaboration in South Africa. Together with FNB and FMO, the NASIRA guarantee will enable greater access to finance for small and medium-sized young and female entrepreneurs to build their own businesses. With innovative initiatives such as NASIRA, Team Europe continues to grow its deep-rooted partnership with South Africa,’’ said Theo Kaspers, Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa.

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About FNB
First National Bank (FNB) is the oldest bank in South Africa and services retail and commercial customers and the broader African continent with operations in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Mozambique and Ghana. FNB is growing its franchise strongly in both existing and new markets on the back of a compelling customer offering that provides a broad range of innovative financial services products and services, across its transactional, lend, insure and invest business.

About Global Gateway
Global Gateway is the European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. Through a Team Europe approach, Global Gateway brings together the EU, its Member States and their financial and development institutions to mobilise the private sector to leverage investments for a transformational impact. It aims to mobilise up to € 300 billion (ZAR 5.89 trillion) in investments. Global Gateway is fully aligned with the UN’s Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Paris Agreement. The EIB is a key partner in Global Gateway. It aims to support € 100 billion (ZAR 1.96 trillion) of investment by the end of 2027, around one third of the overall target of this EU initiative. In South Africa, Global Gateway investments focus on the development of sustainable strategic value chains in renewable energy, including critical raw materials, transport and health.