Access to Finance

Sombreiro Kapital (SK)

Summary of Outcomes:

NGN 30.1 million in loans facilitated

195 supported by SK to receive loans from partner banks

NGN 40 million in investments leveraged

PIND established Sombreiro Kapital (SK) to help farmers and MSMEs in the Niger Delta region access additional funding for their operations and improve their productivity.

SK guarantees loans through partner commercial banks for agribusinesses in the aquaculture, poultry, cocoa, oil palm, and cassava industries in Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Imo, and Ondo States. By sharing the risks with the banks, SK ensures that smallholder farmers get these loans at a low-interest rate.

In 2022, to ensure smallholder farmers had uninterrupted access to low-cost finance, SK partnered with Unity Bank Plc while sustaining its partnership with Sterling Bank. SK also changed the eligibility rules for accessing the loans to reduce the number of defaulters and the attendant risks for the banks to encourage them to keep lending to the farmers. SK also hired loan monitoring officers to oversee the proper disbursement of the loans.

During the reporting year, SK supported 195 farmers/MSMEs with loans worth over ₦30.2 million, including 15 fish processors in GMOU communities and 180 smallholder cocoa farmers in Ondo State.

Despite some challenges, SK is well-positioned to continue providing finance to businesses in the Niger Delta, thereby enhancing their productivity.