In accordance with a contract signed between United Bank for Africa Plc and the Secretariat of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, the bank will finance qualifying SMEs in Africa up to US$6.0 billion over the course of the following three years.
According to Vanguard, the bank and AfCFTA finalized the contract in Accra, Ghana, last week, during the 30th Afreximbank Annual Meeting.
By virtue of this contract, the parties agree to support the growth of SMEs engaged in the agro-processing, automotive, pharmaceutical, transportation, and logistics industries.
Improving SME access to markets and financing is one of the AfCFTA’s main goals in order to support their expansion and socioeconomic development in Africa.
The bank’s deputy managing director, Muyiwa Akinyemi, who signed the contract on the institution’s behalf, stated that as Africa’s global bank, UBA is still dedicated to fostering the expansion and progress of SMEs all over the continent.
In addition, Muyiwa stated, “Under this cooperation, UBA will provide non-financial services to these SMEs in order to strengthen their ability for growth across the 20 African nations where we are present and establish sustainable business practices.”
In his remarks on the partnership with UBA, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, Ambassador Wamkele Mene, emphasized the necessity of accelerating intra-African trade and catalyzing industrialization in Africa in order to improve the socio-economic well-being of the continent and its people, which he noted was a driving force behind the partnership.
“The SMEs will receive the needed push to grow in their intra-African/export trading capacities thanks to the specified areas of engagement with UBA, which is in line with the goals of the AfCFTA,” Wamkele stated.
In his remarks on the partnership with UBA, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, Ambassador Wamkele Mene, emphasized the necessity of accelerating intra-African trade and catalyzing industrialization in Africa in order to improve the socio-economic well-being of the continent and its people, which he noted was a driving force behind the partnership.
