Today, June 23, the board of the International Finance Corporation will meet to evaluate a $67 million loan which it intends to grant Nigerian lender United Bank for Africa (UBA). The 5-year loan facility will be provided to the five subsidiaries of the bank, to boost lending to small and medium enterprises.

Concerned subsidiaries are those of Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal and Cameroon. Regulations in the banking sector, which are extremely strict for prudential purpose, makes it very difficult for SMEs to secure financing from banks. The lenders indeed often demand guarantees which credit applicants can hardly provide.

IFC’s new loan comes after another, worth $150 million, awarded to the UBA in December 2016 by the African Development Bank and also aiming at helping the bank boost its SME business.

With these loans, United Bank for Africa should once more confirm its position as the lender with the lowest charges for small and medium enterprises. Indeed, released last month, the Think Business Banking Tariff Survey 2017 ranked UBA as cheapest lender for SMEs.

Idriss Linge