E-Financial
What SMEs Must Do Before Applying For a Business Loan
By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke,
Finding the right business idea is the single most important thing in building a successful business; raising capital is the second most important if you must nurture the idea of growth. While the sources of capital still remain largely the same – as they were in the last 2 decades, certain factors must be considered by entrepreneurs looking to raise capital through loans. Jumia, Nigeria’s number one shopping destination shares a few of the important considerations.
Firm up your business plan
No doubt, as an entrepreneur, you have a business plan that serves as a compass for your business. Nonetheless, if you’re at the precipice of obtaining a business loan to advance the successful running of your business, it’s important that you firm up your business plan, as potential lenders will scrutinize every single element contained in the plan. You might likely jeopardize your only chance of raising capital if there are avoidable loopholes in the plan. A potential lender will be keenly interested in knowing that you are running a credible business and that you have the knowledge and skill-sets required to grow it into something great. Include absolutely everything that has to do with your business, such as goals, competitors, past and projected revenue and expenses, market analysis, and how you intend to grow your company. This will be the first thing they read, and it could be the last if they are not immediately interested.
Research your borrowing options
There are a whole lot of options for loans today. You have the banks, online loan lending platforms and companies offering loans to entrepreneurs. A good example of the latter is Jumia Lending where vendors selling on the platform are granted easy working capital with no collateral. The rules for getting a loan are simple: You must have been selling on Jumia for at least 6 months, your 6-month average sales revenue on Jumia must be greater than N100,000 and your 6-month average items sold on Jumia must be more than 25 items.
Prepare financial statements
You will want to include any past financial statement you can provide for the lenders and future projections. Come up with a plan that you will follow, and show projected numbers so that your lenders can see your goals clearly and know that you will be able to make enough money to pay them back. Include your cash flow statements, income statements, and balance statements for the past three to five years, and show your estimates for these statements for the next few years, taking into account all seasonal changes in your business and how you will use the money you are borrowing.
Know your capacity for collateral
Certain types of loans will require you to put down some form of collateral. If this is the type of loan you choose, you will need to have a good idea of how much your form of collateral is worth. Lenders will want to know this number and you will want to know that you have something of tangible value to secure the loan. Just make sure that you’re not going to default on the loan and lose whatever property you use.
Understand what the loan will cost you in the end
You will want to know exactly how long it will take you to pay off your loan. Find out what kinds of offers various lenders will be able to give you, and use those interest rates and fees to estimate your payments. All of this information should be included in your financial statements, but you should also add up all of your payments to see how much the loan will cost you. Know all of the terms and conditions attached to each loan offer before you decide which one will be best for you, and be able to show the lenders that you are a good investment.
Debt Management Office (DMO) said the federal government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter of 2026.
The office disclosed the data in its latest domestic debt service report for Q1 2026.
The figure comprises N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
The agency said in January, the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service, while the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February.
Debt service increased further to N1.43 trillion in March, bringing the total for the quarter to N3.14 trillion.
The March figure was 47.7 percent higher than the N967.67 billion recorded in February and 92.7 percent above the N741.82 billion spent in January.
Also, the debt office said interest payments accounted for about 94.6 percent of total domestic debt service during the quarter.
The DMO said treasury bills accounted for the largest share of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest on federal government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
The agency said the government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period.
The DMO said the principal component of the debt service comprised N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.
Overall, the government’s domestic debt service rose sharply through the quarter, with March accounting for almost half of the N3.14 trillion spent between January and March.
Nigeria’s public debt increased by 0.01 percent to N159.35 trillion in the Q1 of 2026.
Interswitch Group, an integrated digital payments and commerce company, together with global banking software provider, Temenos have reassured the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of their commitment to advancing the modernisation of Nigeria’s financial services sector.
Interswitch and Temenos had earlier in June announced a strategic partnership across Africa which would see Interswitch leverage Temenos solutions – across core banking, digital banking, payments, wealth management and financial crime mitigation – to provide cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services to banks and financial institutions across Africa.
This will enable institutions to progressively transform their banking platform and evolve to more customer-centric business models. The service will initially support key African markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and others.
The recent regulatory visit to CBN headquarters in Abuja, was led by the Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, and Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Temenos, Santhosh Rao, as part of the ongoing efforts by both organisations to deepen collaboration with Central Banks across the African region on the future of digital banking infrastructure across Nigeria and key African markets.
Discussions centred on the strategic partnership between Interswitch and Temenos, and how it will enable Nigerian financial institutions to progressively modernise their core banking platforms and transition to more customer-centric business models.
The two organisations also explored opportunities to work with the CBN in charting new frontiers in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) innovation, leveraging resilient financial networks and decentralised application platforms to support the issuance and management of CBDCs.
Commenting on the visit, Elegbesaid: “Our partnership as Interswitch with Temenos and our continued engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria reflect a shared commitment to building banking infrastructure that is resilient, inclusive, and ready for the next phase of Africa’s financial evolution.
We are proud to be at the table as these conversations shape the future of digital banking technology and innovation across key Africa markets…”
The Bank of Industry, through BOI Financing SPV Plc, has opened subscriptions for its inaugural Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond worth up to N250bn under its $1bn multi-currency instruments programme, seeking to raise long-term capital to finance businesses across Nigeria’s priority sectors.
The offer, which opened on 5 August and closes on 11 August, is being arranged by Chapel Hill Denham as the lead issuing house. The five-year bond is priced within a yield range of 17.35 per cent to 17.50 per cent and will be listed on the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
According to the offer document, proceeds from the issuance will be deployed to finance eligible businesses and projects across sectors, including agriculture and food processing, healthcare, engineering and technology, renewable energy, petrochemicals, oil and gas, creative industries and solid minerals, in line with BOI’s development finance mandate.
The lender said the financing is expected to improve access to medium and long-term funding for Nigerian enterprises, expand productive capacity, create and preserve jobs, deepen local value addition, support import substitution, boost exports and strengthen domestic value chains.
BOI, Nigeria’s foremost development finance institution, said it has provided funding to more than one million businesses across the country and disbursed over N1.27tn between 2023 and 2025. The institution operates across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory and is jointly owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The bank also highlighted its financial performance, reporting a 36 per cent compound annual growth rate in gross earnings between 2021 and 2025.
Interest income rose 64 per cent to N884bn in 2025 from N538bn in the previous year, while its capital adequacy ratio stood at 39 per cent, nearly four times the regulatory minimum of 10 per cent. Its non-performing loan ratio was 1.7 per cent, below the CBN’s prudential limit of five per cent.
The bond has been assigned AAA ratings by Agusto & Co. and Intelligence Africa, reflecting the issuer’s strong capitalization, profitability, liquidity and ownership structure.
The issuance is open to institutional and qualified investors with a minimum subscription of N5m and additional investments in multiples of N1m. Interest will be paid semi-annually at a fixed rate, while principal repayment will begin in the third year through equal semi-annual amortised instalments until maturity in 2031.
The bond is also exempt from tax, making it an attractive investment option for investors seeking stable returns amid expectations of declining interest rates.
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