SME Growth Fund The YouWiN! SME Growth Fund is a commercially focused fund established by the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) of Nigeria. It was established with a seed capital of N3bn (approximately $20m which is expected to grow to about$50m) to support small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. This support is aimed at accelerating the growth and development of SME’s by financing business plans and proposals that are likely to have a positive impact on the Nigerian economy. Areas of expected impact include job creation, innovative solutions to market, development of skills and human capital, and the generation of profits/increased incomes. The Fund is established to invest capital of between N25m to N45m on average in SMEs, in return for equity share, or as secured loans. The Fund will be institutionalized to focus on SMEs with the potential to engender innovation, generate good return on investment, create jobs, and promote entrepreneurship and social development in general.
Application Process
Before applying for finance, it is important you make adequate preparations and have a solid business plan in place. The business plan is a mandatory requirement. It MUST be realistic, thorough, detailed, and should properly reflect your strategy for growing your business. SMEs interested in seeking investment from the fund must also meet ALL of the following pre-qualification criteria (as is relevant), before submitting an application: Applicants must own the majority of the shares/equity of the business they are seeking finance for. Where there is an equal partnership, the application must be a joint application all applicants must have a registered business enterprise or company with the Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC). A copy of the Certificate of Registration must be submitted at pre-qualification stage. All applicants must submit a copy of the management structure of their businesses, and a description of the corporate governance systems that are in place, the main business premises must be in located in Nigeria, and the business address must be within Nigeria Existing SMEs must have less than 100 employees Existing SMEs must have annual financial statements for each year of their existence, or be able to prepare same Existing SMEs must hold verifiable business bank accounts Existing SMEs must be able to provide tax clearance certificates for each year of their existence All applicants must have suitable identification documents (e.g. a passport or a drivers license)Detailed checks will be conducted to verify the information provided by the applicants. Applicants must be able to provide original documents and other evidence to support their application.