Simbi Wabote’s $350 million gamble: How Nigeria achieved a 98% loan repayment rate | Feature Article
- Lindsey Schlandt
- Oct 1
- 1 min read
EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM — Under Simbi Wabote’s leadership of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (2016–2023), the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) defied the odds of Nigeria’s struggling banking sector. While conventional banks saw default rates above 50%, the fund achieved a 98% repayment rate across roughly 72 companies, disbursing over $450 million through the Bank of Industry and NEXIM. Loans were offered at single-digit interest rates with five-year terms, enabling Nigerian companies to invest in manufacturing, acquire critical assets, and refinance costly commercial debt.
The fund’s strict compliance criteria ensured only established, regulation-adherent oil and gas firms could participate, screening out high-risk borrowers. As a result, Nigerian-owned vessel participation rose sharply, manufacturing capacity expanded, and companies gained the stability to compete with international players. Beyond strengthening local industry, the fund demonstrated how targeted, sector-specific lending can succeed where broad-based credit programs fail, leaving behind one of Wabote’s most innovative and measurable economic legacies.
