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IFC’s investment will guarantee 50 per cent of an aggregate loan portfolio of up to $154 million equivalent to businesses in sectors including trade and energy, the BOA and IFC said in a joint press release.
Through the facility, BOA is expected to make 12,000 new loans, of which at least 2,000 will be to women-owned businesses, which often face greater barriers accessing finance. IFC will also provide advisory services to help BOA strengthen its portfolio of women-owned SMEs across its affiliates in the ten countries.
“The asset transformation to increase our exposure to SMEs constitutes one of the three pillars of our strategy. Indeed, we are convinced of the driving role of SMEs. We thank IFC’s initiative that will help BOA to boost our SMEs penetration with more strength and confidence,” said Amine Bouabid, group chief executive officer of BOA.
“Ramping up access to finance for SMEs is pivotal when macroeconomic headwinds and supply chains disruptions are hampering growth, innovation, and economic activity in Africa, particularly in fragile, conflict-affected, and low-income countries,” said Aliou Maiga, IFC’s regional industry director for the Financial Institutions Group in Africa. “IFC’s deepening partnership with BOA reflects our strategy to support financial inclusion, access to credit, and more broadly, private sector development on the continent.”
“As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative, we are pleased to continue to empower female entrepreneurs to accelerate growth and recharge their businesses through access to capital,” said Charlotte Keenan, global director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women. “We look forward to supporting Bank of Africa Group as it expands lending to women-owned businesses across sub-Saharan Africa.”
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)