The Alternative Bank

The Alternative Bank (‘AltBank’) is a non-interest bank in Nigeria that offers products and services to retail, institutional and government customers based on Islamic finance principles. AltBank initially started operations in January 2014 as a unit within Sterling Bank as Sterling Alternative Finance and became a fully-fledged standalone bank in July 2023.

AltBank’s model is guided by two core principles: zero interest lending, and profit-sharing underpinned by a partnership style of financing involving risk-sharing. This allows Alt Bank to offer financing products to rural and agri-SMEs that are based on contracts (not collateral), have flexible repayment terms, and ethical pricing (markups).

In 2024 Small Foundation and The Alternative Bank began a multiyear partnership to support rural and agri-SMEs across Nigeria to access much needed working capital financing.

Our collective goal is that more rural SMEs scale to attract more capital from local financial institutions, leading to improved efficiencies, opportunities and livelihoods in agricultural ecosystems across the continent.