UK-Backed Facility Targets Capital Gap For Nigerian Growth Businesses

• FSD Africa has launched the Manager Finance Facility (MFF), backed by FCDO Nigeria and FMO, to help locally rooted capital providers channel more suitable financing to small and growing businesses.

• The facility will provide flexible, returnable catalytic capital for providers testing financing models such as revenue-based finance, flexible equity, venture debt, blended finance and local-currency funding.

• Nigeria-based alternative local capital providers can apply, with the facility targeting stronger investment pipelines, increased private capital mobilisation and improved access to finance for underserved businesses.

September 24, () – A new financing facility backed by the UK Government and FMO is targeting one of the persistent challenges facing Nigeria’s small and growing businesses: access to appropriate growth capital.

The Manager Finance Facility (MFF), launched by FSD Africa, is designed to strengthen emerging Alternative Local Capital Providers (ALCPs) that are developing financing models tailored to the cash-flow and growth realities of African businesses.

The facility is being supported by FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, and the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Nigeria, with additional funding partners expected to join as it expands.

Rather than providing conventional grants directly to businesses, the MFF will provide catalytic, returnable capital to local capital providers, enabling them to test financing models, execute early transactions, establish investment track records and strengthen their operations.

The facility will deploy capital through two main channels: Piloting Capital, which will support the testing of innovative financing models and early transactions; and Operational Capital, which will help providers strengthen teams, systems, governance and compliance while building financially sustainable operations.

The financing models being explored include revenue-based finance, flexible equity, venture debt, blended finance and local-currency structures.

Juliet Munro, Early-Stage Director, FSD Africa, said the facility was created to address the financing constraints facing both small businesses and the emerging institutions seeking to finance them.

“We need to finance the financiers”, Munro said, noting that locally rooted capital providers need capital to prove their models, build institutions and establish the track records required by larger investors.

For Nigeria, the initiative creates a channel for locally based capital providers to strengthen their capacity and potentially attract larger pools of private and institutional investment.

Temilola Akinrinade, Investment & Capital Markets Lead, FCDO Nigeria, said the UK was supporting the Nigeria window of the facility to strengthen locally rooted capital providers, mobilise further private investment and support sustainable economic transformation.

Andrew Shaw, Manager, Market Creation Financial Inclusion at FMO, said backing local capital providers could help develop a stronger pipeline of investable businesses and mobilise more private and institutional capital into underserved African markets.

Beyond financing, successful providers will have access to capacity-building and peer-learning support covering governance, environmental, social and governance issues, impact measurement, valuation and fundraising.

The facility is also intended to generate market data and evidence on alternative financing models, with FSD Africa seeking to demonstrate that African-led capital providers can develop into an investable asset class capable of attracting larger pools of capital.

Applications for Nigeria-based ALCPs opened on 1 September 2026, while applications from other eligible African markets opened on 17 September 2026.

The facility is particularly interested in emerging providers developing innovative investment models, including approaches incorporating climate resilience and gender-smart strategies.

Ultimately, the MFF is designed to create a multiplier effect: stronger local capital providers, improved access to finance for growth businesses and greater mobilisation of private and institutional capital across African markets.