Chris Oyakhilome’s Loveworld Kingdom Secures $1m For African Businesses

Loveworld Kingdom, a faith-based movement founded by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, says it has secured $1m for an investment initiative targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.

The organisation announced the funding in a statement on Tuesday, after unveiling the investment fund at the Loveworld Trade and Investment Forum in Accra, Ghana, in October.

According to the statement, the initiative is expected to provide financial support to businesses within its network, particularly entrepreneurs seeking to increase production, expand operations and enter new markets.

The organisation said its ministry of commerce would connect business owners with potential investors, professionals and other resources available within its network.

It said the initiative was designed to address financing difficulties facing smaller businesses, many of which struggle to obtain commercial bank loans because of collateral requirements and inadequate financial records.

The statement cited World Bank figures indicating that fewer than five per cent of Nigeria’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have access to bank credit.

The executive minister of commerce and convener of the forum, Stephanie Oforka, said organisations and individuals needed to direct more investment towards businesses they wanted to see grow.

“We cannot continually speak about the businesses we want to see while directing our capital elsewhere,” she said.

The statement also cited an African Export-Import Bank estimate that Africa’s annual trade finance deficit stands at approximately $100bn, with smaller businesses particularly affected by the funding shortage.

Executive minister of hinterlands ministries at Loveworld Kingdom, Chidi Ezimako, said businesses seeking support should demonstrate credibility, product quality and the ability to meet their obligations.

The organisation said access to funding would not be determined solely by membership or religious affiliation.

Bolaji Akinboro, special adviser on the economy to Loveworld Kingdom and co-founder of Cellulant, stressed the importance of improving productive capacity to enable African businesses to compete in regional and international markets.

Oforka said the organisation’s next priority was to help participating businesses expand beyond their existing markets through improved production capacity, higher standards and access to capital.

“Our next responsibility is to scale. How do we take our businesses from local successes to global success? How do we take our businesses to regional relevance? How do we improve standards? How do we increase our production capacity? How do we provide access to capital? How do we connect our businesses to new markets?” she said.

According to the statement, the proposed investment model would bring entrepreneurs into contact with potential investors, suppliers, professional expertise and customers.

The organisation said it expected the initiative to support enterprise development, although it did not provide details of the investors behind the $1m funding, the terms of the investment or the criteria for selecting beneficiary businesses.

Loveworld Kingdom is a spiritual community introduced by Christ Embassy, also known as Believers’ Loveworld Inc., founded by Oyakhilome. Pastor Yemisi Kudehinbu serves as its prime minister.