Morocco-based Bank of Africa boasts a long and storied history as a leading lender to regional small and medium-sized enterprises. Last year, it secured a €50 million credit line from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to increase financing for SMEs across the continent.
A key project, signed by Bank of Africa in alliance with the EBRD last year, was a €20 million financing facility that channels capital directly to women entrepreneurs. It has since been extended to associations and cooperatives in rural areas.
It also unveiled a tie-up with Export-Import Bank of China to bolster Sino-African trade and stimulate growth across the region. It also joined forces with the IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank; a $171.2 million financing facility will help Bank of Africa to support SMEs in nine countries, including Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali and Niger.
In the west African state of Togo, Bank of Africa signed a commitment with the country’s association of women business leaders to make it easier for women-owned SMEs to secure access to financing.
The lender, under chairman and chief executive Othman Benjelloun, also secured a €25 million financing line from the Sanad Fund to improve access for smaller Moroccan businesses. Created by Germany’s KfW Development Bank, the fund disburses debt and equity finance to partner institutions across north and sub-Saharan Africa.
Across the continent, Bank of Africa now boasts 22 dedicated business centres that market new and specifically designed products to cater to SMEs, including inventory finance, invoice finance and working-capital loans. Total outstanding loans to SMEs by Bank of Africa rose 23% year on year during the awards period.
Bank of Africa secured a €50 million credit line from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to increase financing for SMEs across the continent
Another notable offering from Bank of Africa is the ‘Entrepreneurship Club’, a service that disburses loans worth up to 60% of a business’s funding needs. It also provides assistance in the form of training, advising, mentoring and coaching to help smaller firms to better finance and execute projects.
Bank of Africa also launched its first financing facility for the Moroccan Sustainable Energy Financing Facility, a credit line worth up to €110 million. The facility channels capital to participating financial institutions, which on-lend to businesses and energy services firms to boost energy efficiency and finance and construct new renewable energy projects.
