By Dayo Oyinlola

As global financial markets shift toward more responsible and sustainable models, Nigerian financial institutions are increasingly reassessing their approach to value creation. Sage Grey Finance, a leading financial institution established in 2018, has been at the forefront of driving financial inclusion, supporting SME growth, and creating sustainable economic impact across Nigeria. Licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria and integrated into the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the company has built a reputation for providing tailored financial solutions that address the unique challenges faced by businesses and individuals in the Nigerian market. 

The firm, which received its official license in March 2021, offers lending, fund management, and strategic advisory services across Nigeria. While many institutions in the sector have adopted environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles primarily for compliance purposes, Sage Grey Finance has developed what it calls an Impact Finance Framework. This framework, according to the company, structures its operations to prioritize measurable social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns. The approach represents a growing trend in Nigeria’s financial services sector, where institutions are exploring how traditional financing models can better address development challenges. 

“We are not simply layering impact onto our operations. It is embedded in our DNA,” said Temitope Runsewe, MD/CEO of Sage Grey Finance. “Our strategy is clear: support commercially viable ventures that also deliver quantifiable improvements in people’s lives and the environment.”

A Structured Approach to Sustainable Finance

Sage Grey Finance’s Impact Finance Framework goes beyond policy statements. It includes a defined impact assessment process, performance tracking systems and alignment with global development targets, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Each transaction or engagement must align with at least two SDGs and meet a threshold on the company’s internal Impact Assessment Criteria. These indicators are tailored to the Nigerian development context and tracked over the life cycle of each investment or advisory project. This methodical approach gives the firm and its partners visibility into what their capital is achieving beyond financial yield.

The firm is currently targeting sectors where capital needs intersect most strongly with national development priorities: renewable energy, recycling and sustainable manufacturing, affordable housing, financial inclusion, and SME growth, particularly those led by women and youth.

For instance, in the energy sector, Sage Grey Finance is financing solar projects that support Nigeria’s energy transition and contribute to the government’s energy access goals. It is  also exploring financing models for off-grid solutions in underserved communities.

On the manufacturing side, the firm is backing ventures that reduce industrial waste and promote circularity, like FREEE Recycle, an Integrated Recycling and Manufacturing company. “There is a strong case for investing in recycling businesses not just for environmental reasons, but for job creation and raw material efficiency,” Runsewe continued.

Making Finance Work for People

Sage Grey Finance also views access to finance as a tool for unlocking potential in undercapitalised segments of the economy. Through tailored financial products and strategic partnerships, it is focusing on expanding credit access to women-led businesses, youth-owned enterprises and underserved communities.

These efforts are reinforced with capacity-building programmes and technical advisory services, signalling a more holistic approach to economic inclusion to ensure capital doesn’t just land, but takes root.

 This involves working with entrepreneurs and small businesses to build long-term viability, not just short-term lending.

Governance and Accountability

What makes Sage Grey Finance’s model stand out is the attention it pays to measurement and governance. Impact is not just a buzzword; it is codified through internal systems and accountability mechanisms.

The firm publishes impact reports tied to SDG performance metrics and discloses how its financing decisions contribute to both financial and non-financial outcomes. This level of transparency, still rare in the Nigerian finance space, is designed to build trust with clients, investors, regulators, and the public.

The company also maintains a strong focus on risk management, recognising that sustainable finance is not devoid of market or execution risks. Instead, it integrates risk metrics into its impact methodology, ensuring that financial soundness remains a core principle even as social and environmental goals are pursued.

Building Credibility Through Partnerships

Sage Grey Finance acknowledges that systemic impact cannot be delivered in isolation. The company works across sectors, collaborating with development finance institutions, donor agencies, government bodies, and private sector players to co-create solutions.

Partnerships are essential for scaling capital, accessing technical expertise, and influencing broader policy outcomes. As part of this effort, Sage Grey Finance is participating in cross-industry conversations around sustainable finance regulation and ESG standard-setting in Nigeria.

Industry watchers say the company’s approach positions it as a credible actor in Nigeria’s evolving impact investing landscape. “What Sage Grey is doing aligns with the broader trend of integrating impact with returns, but with more structure and discipline than we often see,” said an independent financial analyst based in Lagos. “There’s a real opportunity here to lead the market and help build investor confidence in this model.”

A Shift in Mindset

Sage Grey Finance’s strategy reflects a growing consensus that financial institutions must play a more active role in addressing Nigeria’s development challenges. From climate change to unemployment, inequality to infrastructure deficits, the need for capital that delivers more than profit is clear.

What is less clear, but is gaining traction, is how to do it at scale and sustainably. That is the question Sage Grey Finance is attempting to answer. Its core belief is simple but powerful: that impact and profitability are not mutually exclusive. In fact, in the long term, they are mutually reinforcing.

As Nigeria seeks to attract more purpose-aligned capital, institutions like Sage Grey Finance are showing what it means to go beyond rhetoric—to build processes, frameworks, and partnerships that make impact real, measurable, and bankable.

Whether this model becomes mainstream or remains niche will depend on several factors: regulatory support, investor appetite, and broader market maturity. Sage Grey Finance has placed a long bet on the idea that finance can and should work for more than just the bottom line.