FirstRand, one of Africa’s largest financial institutions, secured a new credit line of $20 million to strengthen its private sector financing activity. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed bank plans to deploy innovative lending solutions for its 700,000 clients.

The financial institution headed by Alan Pullinger (pictured) will pump 30% of the resources into women-led initiatives. FirstRand has supported more than 30,000 women entrepreneurs. With this strategy, FirstRand Limited is redefining its priorities in terms of support for private sector players. In addition to being good savers and responsible clients, as highlighted in the October 2020 joint study by the International Finance Corporation and the FMO, women are increasingly being brought into corporate management. 29% of companies in sub-Saharan Africa are owned by women, according to World Bank statistics of March 2020.

The line of credit obtained by FirstRand Limited is an initiative of Findev Canada, a Canadian institution that provides financial services to the private sector in developing countries.

Chamberline MOKO