• Project would support up to $230M in trade finance with Standard Chartered
• IFC plans up to $40M in funded and unfunded risk participation
• Deal targets grain exports and fertilizer imports in Sub-Saharan Africa

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is preparing to support a new trade finance facility for agro-industrial trader ETC Group (ETG) through a structured arrangement with Standard Chartered Bank, according to documents reviewed by Ecofin Agency.

Pending approval by the IFC board on March 12, the project provides for two trade finance facilities totaling up to $230 million. The World Bank Group institution is considering participation of up to $40 million through funded and unfunded risk-sharing mechanisms. In practice, IFC would not provide the full amount of financing but would cover part of the credit risk borne by the bank, facilitating the extension of trade lines.

The facility is expected to finance the purchase, storage, and export of grains, as well as fertilizer imports, across several Sub-Saharan African countries, including Malawi, Benin, Kenya, and Tanzania. Commodities are largely sourced from smallholder farmers before being sold to wholesalers, cooperatives, NGOs, or governments, particularly in countries eligible for International Development Association (IDA) financing.

The Patel family at the helm

Founded in 1967, ETG remains strategically controlled by the Patel family, which holds 52.51% of the company’s capital. Mahesh Patel, chairman of the board, and Ketan and Birju Patel, co-chief executive officers, are members of the East African Indian diaspora. Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, through its African subsidiary, owns 31.9%, while South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) holds 13.9%.

Mahesh Patel

The Patel family has built ETG into an integrated agribusiness group covering agricultural inputs, procurement, logistics, processing, and international trading. Active in more than 45 countries, ETG has become a key intermediary linking African smallholder producers with global markets.

A signal to the trade finance market

The transaction comes at a time of tightening conditions for agricultural trade finance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Stricter international prudential regulations, including the implementation of Basel III and the gradual introduction of Basel IV standards, have led many international banks to scale back exposure to African markets. Rising sovereign risk and local currency volatility have further increased borrowing costs and complicated foreign exchange transactions.

As a result, multilateral institutions estimate a structural trade finance gap on the continent of tens of billions of dollars. Afreximbank’s 2025 report puts Africa’s annual trade finance gap at between $80 billion and $100 billion. The African Development Bank estimates that about 40% of trade transactions on the continent face financing constraints, compared with a global average of around 7%. The disparity underscores the concentration of the financing shortfall in Africa and the persistent difficulty local firms face in securing credit lines.

The gap is particularly acute in agricultural value chains, which rely heavily on short-term financing for crop purchases, storage, exports, and fertilizer imports. In this context, risk-sharing mechanisms backed by multilateral lenders such as IFC have expanded, enabling commercial banks to continue financing essential transactions while limiting their risk exposure.

For Standard Chartered Bank, whose trade risk distribution activities are managed from Singapore, the structure reinforces its presence in intra-African trade flows. While several European and U.S. banks have reduced exposure, the British lender, historically established in East and Southern Africa, is seeking to maintain its position in commodity financing with multilateral support. The strategy extends beyond trade finance to include sovereign financing.

Fiacre E. Kakpo