The term loan refers to a type of credit vehicle in which a sum of money is lent to another party in exchange for future repayment of the value or principal amount. In many cases, the lender also adds interest and/or finance charges to the principal value which the borrower must repay in addition to the principal balance. Loans may be for a specific, one-time amount, or they may be available as an open-ended line of credit up to a specified limit. Loans come in many different forms including secured, unsecured, commercial, and personal loans – Investopedia
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Online Platforms that give Quick Loans to Small Businesses
If you’ve been wondering where you can access loans as a small business in Nigeria, here are 10 online platforms where you can get quick loans for your business in Nigeria (in no particular order)
1. SMEDAN – SME loan supported by federal government
Let’s start with this government-backed initiative before going to the private sector. As a way of supporting small and medium businesses in the country, Nigeria’s federal government established the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in 2003 to help promote the growth of small and medium enterprises.
They do this in different ways including training, mentorship and provision of loan.
- Minimum amount: N100,000
- Maximum amount: N2,000,000
- SMEDAN Loan Requirements: Business Plan and National ID
- Interest rate: 4%/month
You can visit SMEDAN website to apply for this loan.
2. Renmoney – Personal and business loan
Renmoney is a digital-friendly microfinance bank that gives quick loans to small businesses and individuals in Nigeria.
To get SME loan from Renmoney, you have to show proof that your business has monthly earnings so that you can payback.
- Minimum amount: N100,000
- Maximum amount: N6,000,000
- Renmoney Loan Requirements: Bank Statement, Utility Bill and National ID
- Interest rate: 2.8%/month
Visit Renmoney official website to apply for the loan.
3. Lidya – Small business loans and working
Lidya is a leading SME-only loan platform. The online platform was launched in 2016 to close the credit gap, in Nigeria and other emerging markets.
If you’d like to access an easy loan for your business, you can apply for Lidya business loan online or through mobile phone and receive feedback in a couple of hours.
Lydia makes use of technology and algorithms for risk assessment before disbursing loans. Once they run your application through their system and you are eligible for the loan, disbursement is made.
- Minimum amount: $500
- Maximum amount: $50,000
- Lydia Loan Requirements: Proof of registration, Existed for 3 months+ and a Bank Account
- Interest rate: 3.5%/month
If you’d like to take a loan from Lydia, you can start your application here.
4. Kiakia – Smart lending and swift loans
Backed by a renowned commercial bank, Sterling Bank, Kiakia is an Abuja based financial institution that gives quick loan to small businesses in Nigeria.
The online platform also makes it possible for users to give each other loans using intuitive conversations.
- Minimum amount: N50,000
- Maximum amount: Depends on credit score
- Kiakia Loan Requirements: BVN, Valid ID, verified source of income
- Interest rate: 3.5%/month
Begin your business loan application with Kiakia on their website.
5. Carbon – Fast, flexible loan for businesses
Carbon is a popular digital loan platform in Nigeria. Formerly known as Paylater, Carbon was initially known as the go-to platform for instant personal loans.
However, Carbon recently launched Carbon for business to support SMEs and startups with loans to scale.
Using your BVN, Carbon can calculate your credit and determine how much they can give you.
- Minimum amount: N50,000
- Maximum amount: N20,000,000
- Carbon Loan Requirements: Business running for 12 months +, 1 million+ monthly revenue
- Interest rate: Depends
You can access carbon business loan here.
6. QuickCheck – Quick loans for Nigerians
Quickcheck loan app gives you access to instant loan online for personal and business needs.
- Minimum amount: N1,500
- Maximum amount: N500,000
- Quickcheck Loan Requirements: Depends
- Interest rate: 5%/month
7. C24 – Online loan without collateral
This financial institution gives loans to support individuals and businesses with urgent financial needs. With your internet-enabled device, you can access quick business loan for your small business in Nigeria.
- Minimum amount: N5,000
- Maximum amount: N5,000,000
- C24 Loan Requirements: Formal loan application, recent utility bill, means of identification among others
- Interest rate: 4%/month
Start your C24 loan application here.
8. FastCredit – Fast loan for your needs
Small and medium enterprises like yours can access quick loans from Fast Credit SME loan. This one requires a guarantor and the maximum tenor is 6 months for businesses that meet their criteria.
- Minimum amount: N100,000
- Maximum amount: N5,000,000
- FastCredit Loan Requirements: 12 months business account bank statement, proof of registration, evidence of tax payment among others
- Interest rate: 4%/month
9. EazziCash – Easy access to loans
Eazicash has two loan packages for small business owners, namely Eazzipawn and EazziAssist.
- Minimum amount: N100,000
- Maximum amount: N6,000,000
- EazziCashLoan Requirements: Must be resident in Lagos and its environs
- Interest rate: Depends
Visit Eazzicash website to apply.
10. Zedvance – Access to quick loans without collateral
Last but not least, Zedvance is an online platform that gives loans mostly to individuals. However, in a bid to encourage entrepreneurship, Zedvance has loan facilities for small businesses run by salary earners (as side hustle).
So if you have a job but run a business on the side, then Zedvance loan is for you.
- Minimum amount: N20,000
- Maximum amount: N5,000,000
- EazziCashLoan Requirements: NUBAN cheques or debit mandate, Employee ID, Employment letter, among others.
- Interest rate: Risk-based
Start your Zedvance loan application here.
Reasons To Take Loans
The importance of loans to a small business or individuals cannot be overemphasised. Except you want your business to remain small permanently, you are most likely going to take loans at some point.
Before now, only big companies had access to loan facilities in Nigeria. That has changed in recent years since it’s now glaring to all that small business play important roles in the economy.
In a report made public by PwC in 2018, SMEs (Small and Medium and Enterprises) constitute 96% of businesses in the country and the employer of 84% of Nigerians. Also, SMEs contribute 48% of Nigeria’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
With this, it’s glaring that the growth of your small business has a positive impact on the country’s economy. And loans can help to make that growth you desire a reality.
Aliko Dangote is the biggest inspiration for most entrepreneurs in Nigeria. He is the richest black man on earth, so it makes sense that he inspires us all.
The Kano-born business mogul is currently worth over $7billion. But all of the money and success notwithstanding, Dangote too gets to take a loan sometimes. Even if we don’t know of the unpublicised loans from friends and business associates, Forbes reported in 2018 that Dangote got $650 million loan from Afreximbank (African Export-Import Bank).
The Dangote example is just because it’s closer home and would resonate more. There are several other successful businessmen and women in the international space that had to take loans to support their businesses at some points.
Jeff Bezos’ parents loaned him $250,000 in 1995 (about $30 billion dollars today). Bill Gates loaned Steve Jobs $150 million in 1997 as a form of investment in Apple when it was at the Brink of Bankruptcy. We can go on and on.
The point here is not to encourage you to take needless loans. No one, absolutely nobody said you should take loans to flex. Not at all. Instead, here are a few reasons why you should consider taking loans
- Loans can help you expand your small business
- It can be used to offset inventory costs
- To acquire expensive equipment or other business needs
- For cash flow: operational costs
- To stand the chance of getting higher loans with better terms in the future
Top Places To Apply For Loans in Nigeria
Accessing loans is one of the major necessities in Nigeria.
To get an idea of what sort of loans are available in Nigeria, we decided to find out what funding options are available in the country. We conducted a search on various finance websites and compiled our best picks into this post.
There are so many organisations that grant loans in Nigeria. Some of these organisations are either owned by the Government or owned by private individuals.
This article lists the very functional, top 50 organisations in Nigeria that give loans out.
1. Bank of Agriculture (BOA)
The Bank of Agriculture is a Nigerian government-sponsored bank that provides loans, credits, and other forms of funding for farmers and farming businesses.
They provide products and services such as Agro-processing facilities, Export finance facilities, and many others. They can award loans up to NGN 5 million Naira, and their interest rate is between 7% and 21%.
To apply for a loan at the BOA, you must first:
- Have collateral
- A duly completed application form
- Three recent passport photographs
- A current copy of utility bills
- An initial deposit of NGN 3000
- An existing farmland
- A signed letter from the bank
The Bank of Industry Limited (BOI) is Nigeria’s oldest, largest and most successful development financing institution. It was reconstructed in 2001 out of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) Limited, which was incorporated in 1964. The bank took off in 1964 with an authorized share capital of 2 million (GBP).
The BOI’s core mandate is to provide financial assistance for the establishment of large, medium and small projects as well as the expansion, diversification and modernisation of existing enterprises; and rehabilitation of existing ones.
Once you meet its requirements, accessing loans from the BOI is not so cumbersome, the BOI is one of the best sources of funds available to Nigerian businesses.
Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN)
The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) was conceived by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in collaboration with global development partners to address the major financing challenges facing Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
As the name implies, this bank disburses loans to SMEs. DBN loans can be accessed through PFIs, which include Commercial Banks, Microfinance Banks, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and other Financial Institutions.
DBN loan repayment tenure is flexible (up to 10 years with a moratorium period of up to 18 months) and the interest rates are on a market-conforming and fully financially sustainable basis.
How to get a DBN Loan
You can access the DBN loan through any of these Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) by contacting any of the banks listed below:
NIRSAL Microfinance Bank
The NIRSAL microfinance bank is a CBN licensed institution that offers loans for developmental purposes, mainly to households and MSMEs.
NIRSAL Current Loan Products:
- Agric Small Medium Enterprise Scheme (AGSMEIS)
- Anchor Borrowers’ Program (ABP)
- NIRSAL Access Target Savings Accounts (NAT)
- COVID-19 Support
And a host of others. Kindly Click on the link above to get more details on NIRSAL loans and services.
NIRSAL Loan Criteria:
- Valid Employment letter
- Staff identity card
- Payslip
- Six months statement of accounts
- National ID card of any form
- Utility bills
- Passport photographs and other relevant documents.
The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM)
The NEXIM Bank is mandated to help provide loans to facilitate export goods and services from Nigeria. Only Business owners and organisations related to exporting activities are required to access loans at the bank. NEXIM Bank provides products like direct lending, foreign input, local, and other related services
Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN)
SMEDAN is charged with granting loan access to MSMEs; it provides schemes such as the commercialisation empowerment initiative, conditional grant scheme and other empowerment schemes for growing business owners.
Conclusion
Just as getting a loan can be good for your business, approaching it the wrong way may haunt you later. That’s why it’s always important to read every term and condition before you submit that loan application.
Here you have 10 different options. Go through each of their offers and settle with what works best for you in terms of the amount offered, tenor, interest rates and other conditions.
Related: Solved:
7 Free Financial Tools for Small Business Owners
Most of the online platforms I’ve come across offer very little minimum amount. I’ll try these ones Sha.
This is beautiful
Nice
So what are the major things to consider before opting in for a loan
A number of things as spelt out in the article. However, the two most important are the interest rates and loan tenor
Great initiative, I have personally had to use quick check and it was awesome.
This is really what I have been looking for to help grow my little business but all that have come across seems not to have the interest of people like us at heart.
Thanks for sharing. Will try this out!