Boosting Intra-Africa Trade : Funding Available For SMEs

The significant role played by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the development of the African economy cannot be overemphasized, which is why steps have been taken to finance SMEs in Africa. It is against this backdrop that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has signed an agreement with Africa's global bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, to provide $6 billion for SMEs across African countries. Under the agreement, Uba will provide the company with the technical and financial solutions it needs to succeed. They will go beyond financing to provide non-financial services to SMEs to develop their capacity to grow and build sustainable business practices in the 20 African countries where Uba operates. They will also use technology to deliver their financing activities.
Explaining the terms of the agreement during a press conference in Douala on Friday, 26 April, Uba officials said out of the $6 billion, CFA 16 billion has been earmarked for SMEs in Cameroon. They said the agreement, which was signed in Ghana on 19 June, will run for the next three years. A breakdown of the $6 billion investment shows that a total of $1.2 billion has been budgeted for 2023, $1.9 billion for 2024 and $2.88 billion for 2025.
According to the Head of SME Banking at UBA Cameroon, Joseph Tchinda, with the aim of boosting intra-African trade, UBA will provide financial services to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in all the 20 African countries where it operates, in four main sectors: agro-processing, automotive, pharmaceuticals and transport and logistics. The press conference also revealed that one of the key initiatives of the AfCFTA agreement...