Cascador and Sterling launch $200 million fund to derisk startup loans

Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, and Sterling Bank, a mid-size Nigerian commercial bank, have set up a $200 million fund to help small Nigerian businesses and startups get bank loans by sharing the risk of borrowers defaulting.

The partners say the SME Credit Backstop can back up to $1 billion in loans at a time. Rather than directly lending to the businesses, it will guarantee part of the bank’s potential losses if a borrower defaults, making it easier…