Access WCS CR II (IFC-47623)

Countries
  • Nigeria
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Dec 21, 2023
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Access Bank Plc
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 70.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 120.75 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 23, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Mar 27, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of a Working Capital Solutions (WCS) facility to Access Bank Plc of US$120.75 million comprising of:

  1. US$70.00 million from IFC own account (the A loan); and
  2. US$50.75 million from private sector participants (B1 loan).

The Project will support the Bank in providing working capital and trade finance facilities to enterprises in Nigeria, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), of which up to 25% will be allocated to Women MSMEs (WMSMEs).

The facility will have a maturity period of 12 months, renewable for an additional 12 months (maximum aggregate exposure of up to 24 months) and will complement the WCS facility of US$50 million to Access Bank processed under the FIG COVID-19 Emergency Response Working Capital Solutions Envelope (WCS Envelope) that was committed in June 2020, rolled over in June 2021 and matured in June 2022 (Project #44047).

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project will support working capital loans and trade-finance to small and medium enterprises in Nigeria impacted by COVID-19. The project will not support coal-related activities, high risk commodities or higher risk business activities that may include a) involuntary resettlement, b) risk of adverse impacts on indigenous peoples, c) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage or d) significant occupational health and safety risks. The environmental and social (E&S) risks of the supported sectors are expected to be medium, thus the project has been categorized as FI-2 in accordance with IFC’s Sustainability Policy.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

IFC’s investment consists of an unsecured loan of US$120.75 million to Access Bank, comprising of up to US$70 million from IFC’s own account and up to US$50.75 million from mobilization on a best-efforts basis.

The proceeds of the investment will provide the Bank with USD funding and liquidity to support its clients’ trade and working capital short-term financing need. The Bank has committed to allocating at least 25% of the facility to support Women MSMEs.

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Access Bank Plc is a Tier-1 Nigerian bank with operations in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom, and representative offices in China, Lebanon and India. It was licensed as a privately owned commercial bank in 1989. In 1998, it became a public limited liability company and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange - now the NGX (Nigerian Exchange Limited). In 2001, the Bank obtained a universal banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Bank serves its various markets through three business segments: Corporate and Investment Banking, Commercial Banking, and Retail Banking.

On March 28, 2022, the strategic decision by the board of the Bank to implement a restructuring for the Group became effective, with a new listed non-operating financial holding company named Access Holdings Plc (the “Holdco”) becoming the ultimate parent of the Access Group, comprising the Bank and the banking subsidiaries. Following an arrangement between Access Bank and its shareholders, the Bank was delisted from the NGX and the Holdco was listed on the NGX. The Holdco is now the only beneficial shareholder of the Bank.

As of June 30, 2024, the largest shareholders of the Holdco are Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Limited (SNNL) and Coronation Trustees Tengen Mauritius (CTTM) with a shareholding of 9.22% and 7.41% respectively. SNNL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings which is a financial services company in Nigeria, holds the shares as a custodian for various investors and does not exercise any right over the underlying shares. CTTM is a related company to the founders, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and late Dr. Herbert Wigwe (Chairman of the Holdco until his passing in February 2024). None of the other investors own more than 5% of the Holdco.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Access Bank PLC
Mr. Seun Bamidele Olufeko
Group Head, Project and Structured Finance
+234 7060414123
seun.olufeko@accessbankplc.com
Access Towers 14/15 Prince Alaba Oniru Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria
www.accessbankplc.com

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ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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