(Ecofin Agency) - FinDev Canada will provide a $20 million loan to the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and businesses in Southern and Eastern Africa.  The facility will mature over eight years.

“TDB has demonstrated its willingness and ability to be there for its clients, supporting their ambitions to grow and create a more integrated, equitable, and economically resilient Africa (…) This loan represents our belief in that future for Africa, and our commitment to offer financial support to the private sector in several of the continent’s lower income countries,” said Paulo Martelli, CEO of FinDev Canada. For Abraham Byanyima, TDB Treasury Executive, the facility is an opportunity for the beneficiary “to catalyze further impact-driven capital into our region.”

Let’s recall that this loan comes two years after the first-ever partnership agreement between FinDev Canada and TDB. In November 2019, the institutions had committed in a long-term deal to share experiences and potential co-investments in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Even though they actively contribute to job and wealth creation, and dominate the private sector on the continent, African MSMEs still struggle to get bank loans. The financing gap for MSMEs in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at $331 billion.

Chamberline Moko