Sterling Bank, Proparco Sign $30m Facility For Clean Energy, Agricultural SMEs

Sterling Bank and French development finance institution, Proparco, have signed a $30 million senior credit facility to finance renewable energy projects and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating along Nigeria’s agricultural value chains.

Under the agreement, 80 per cent of the facility, amounting to $24 million, will be allocated to renewable energy financing, while the remaining $6 million will support agricultural SMEs.

The facility is expected to expand access to clean and reliable electricity for households and businesses, while strengthening local agricultural production, improving food security and creating economic opportunities.

The agreement was signed in Lagos by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Christophe Lecourtier.

The financing comes amid persistent electricity access challenges in Nigeria, where more than one-third of the population still lacks access to electricity, forcing many households and businesses to depend on generators.

The facility is expected to support decentralised renewable energy solutions, particularly solar power, helping households and businesses reduce dependence on fossil fuels and improve access to reliable electricity.

It is also expected to address financing constraints facing SMEs across agricultural value chains, a sector that plays a critical role in employment, food security and Nigeria’s economic resilience.

The partnership will help strengthen local production capacity, create economic opportunities and build more resilient agricultural value chains.

Commenting on the agreement, Suleiman said Nigeria’s electricity challenge increasingly required financing solutions that could support decentralised power generation.

“We have long treated Nigeria’s power problem as a generation problem waiting for the grid to solve it. Increasingly, it is a financing problem with a distributed solution. Millions of households and businesses already pay for power through generators. What they lack is the capital to switch to something cleaner and, over time, cheaper. That is the gap this facility helps us close,” he said.

While speaking on agricultural financing, Suleiman said access to credit remained a major constraint for farmers and businesses operating along the value chain.

“Agriculture has the same problem because demand is rarely what holds farmers back; the cost and availability of credit along the value chain is. Sterling’s HEART strategy rests on a simple view: a bank does its best work where finance changes outcomes. Our partnership with Proparco extends that work,” he added.

The bank said the facility aligns with its HEART strategy, which focuses on financing in the health, education, agriculture, renewable energy and transportation sectors.

Sterling Bank has also set a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and is implementing measures to reduce its environmental footprint, including installing solar power systems at its headquarters and nearly half of its branches and automated teller machines.

The bank’s renewable energy initiatives include its Imperium platform, which facilitates access to renewable energy equipment and services, as well as its electric mobility initiative, which promotes cleaner transportation and creates career opportunities, particularly for women.

Lecourtier said the partnership would support Africa’s energy transition while addressing climate, economic and social challenges.

“In Nigeria, as throughout Africa, the energy transition must be a driver for sustainable transformation, at the intersection of climate, economic, and social challenges,” he said.

He said the financing would improve access to clean and reliable energy, support SMEs and local agricultural value chains, and promote job-creating growth.

“By working with local banks and the private sector, the AFD Group multiplies the impact of its financing and delivers tangible benefits to local communities, serving the shared interests and objectives of France and Nigeria,” Lecourtier added.

The partnership also reflects Sterling Bank’s efforts to promote women’s economic inclusion through initiatives designed to help women entrepreneurs develop their skills and grow their businesses.