First City Monument Bank is expanding its agricultural technology strategy with plans to introduce artificial-intelligence advisory tools in Nigeria’s principal local languages, aiming to bring more smallholder farmers into formal finance while improving the support available to them.
The bank’s Agritech Alumni Impact Report, which covers the period from 2018 to 2026, says FCMB will continue helping innovative agricultural technology businesses develop and expand solutions throughout the farming value chain. Among the initiatives in focus are AI-based platforms that give farmers live guidance and assistance in Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.
The move comes as governments and financial institutions face mounting concerns about food security, weak farm productivity and the persistent difficulty many African farmers have accessing regulated financial services. Agriculture accounts for roughly 24 per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product, FCMB said, yet only about 6 per cent of farmers across Africa can obtain formal credit.
That shortfall remains central to the bank’s efforts to design more inclusive lending products. FCMB intends to make greater use of agricultural technology, including weather information, soil-analysis systems and platforms that allow customers to access services through USSD-enabled mobile technology.
The report describes a broader evolution in FCMB’s agritech programme. What began as a competition aimed mainly at startups has developed into an ecosystem that brings together technology developers, investors and development institutions. The bank’s next phase is expected to include funding for farming methods better able to withstand climate pressures, insurance products packaged with finance, and services covering animal health.
FCMB also plans to help Nigerian agritech companies enter additional African markets, including Uganda, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Kenya. The bank said the approach represents a move away from conventional lending alone toward what it calls a de-risked, data-led and locally controlled future for Africa’s food and agricultural sectors.
FCMB’s agricultural technology work has been supported over time by partnerships with development organisations such as FMO and the United Nations Development Programme. The bank has also collaborated with the Mastercard Foundation on wider programmes focused on agriculture and young people.
