Nigerian manufacturers unable to access affordable capital for operations and expansion due to prohibitively high borrowing costs

Nigerian factory owners and manufacturers face crippling debt servicing costs when interest rates exceed 70% annually, making it economically impossible to finance working capital, equipment purchases, or business expansion. Even with the central bank's recent rate cuts, businesses struggle because commercial banks maintain wide spreads, and the damage from years of high rates has already strained balance sheets. Current solutions like government subsidies and rate cuts move too slowly to prevent business failures and layoffs.