By Chinwendu Obieny
Sterling Bank Plc has successfully raised $25.5 million dollars from BlueOrchard Finance Ltd (BlueOrchard) managed funds to grow the health, education, agribusiness, renewable energy and transportation sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The deal was structured by Alpen Capital. In a statement released by the bank, the fund has been secured as a multi-credit on-lending facility to expand the bank’s financial interventions in the HEART sectors, in line with the lender’s strategic focus to invest in high impact sectors that will drive sustainable growth and prosperity for the Nigerian economy.
The facility will be used to expand Sterling’s HEART strategy, grow the bank’s lending portfolio to micro, small and medium enterprises in the bank’s continuing bid to address the impact of COVID-19 on key sectors.
The facility raised continues the bank’s recent run of initiatives to drive sustained growth to the real sector of the economy through specialised products, investments, lending and fundraising activities, including, but not limited to the bank’s ongoing partnership with Mastercard Foundation on the Sterling Women and Youth Agric Finance product, SWAY AgFin – a single digit facility specifically designed for women and youth aged 18 to 35 years to drive an increase in production in Nigeria’s agric sector, a zero interest facility for schools through Edubanc, as well as the launching of the Health Workers’ Fund to provide supplementary equipment for healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Founded in 2001, Blue Orchard is a Swiss-based global impact investment manager. BlueOrchard has invested to date over USD 9.8 billion across more than 100 countries. 246 million underserved individuals and MSMEs in emerging and frontier markets received access to financial and related services with the support of BlueOrchard as of March 2022.
Alpen Capital (ME) Limited is an investment banking advisory firm which offers solutions in the areas of Debt, M&A and Equity to institutional and corporate clients across the GCC, Africa, South Asia and Levant. With offices in the UAE, Qatar, Oman and India, Alpen Capital works with some of the leading business groups in its operating markets.