Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Tag: African Economy

  • AfDB Approves €25m Trade Finance Guarantee for Cameroon’s CCA-Bank to Boost SME Lending

    AfDB Approves €25m Trade Finance Guarantee for Cameroon’s CCA-Bank to Boost SME Lending

    ABIDJAN/YAOUNDÉ, December 2, 2025 — The African Development Bank Group has approved a €25 million trade finance facility for Cameroon’s Crédit Communautaire d’Afrique-Bank (CCA-Bank), aimed at expanding support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other businesses across key sectors of the economy.

    The facility, cleared by the Bank’s Board of Directors at a session held on 1 December in Abidjan, will be deployed as a Transaction Guarantee, a risk-sharing instrument that provides cover to eligible African banks for their trade finance operations.

    According to Lamin Drammeh, Head of the Bank Group’s Trade Finance Division, the guarantee will help unlock critical imports needed for Cameroon’s productive sectors.

    “The facility will support Cameroon’s economy by facilitating imports of equipment for the industrial, agro-industrial and telecommunications sectors. It will also enable the African Development Bank to provide up to a 100 percent guarantee to confirming banks, to facilitate the confirmation of letters of credit and other similar trade finance instruments issued by CCA-Bank for the benefit of SMEs in Cameroon,” Drammeh explained.

    Léandre Bassolé, Director General for the Bank’s Central Africa region, noted that the operation aligns with AfDB’s drive to deepen direct interventions in support of the private sector in Cameroon.

    “It will strengthen CCA-Bank’s capacity to support the activities of SMEs, including those owned by women and young people, to boost the local productive sector, facilitate economic growth, and create and maintain thousands of jobs,” he said.

    Welcoming what she described as a strategic milestone, CCA-Bank’s Managing Director, Marguerite Fonkwen Atanga, said the partnership would significantly enhance the bank’s ability to serve smaller businesses and emerging entrepreneurs.

    “We would like to express our gratitude to the African Development Bank Group for this important trade finance facility. This strategic partnership marks a major milestone for our institution and will significantly strengthen our capacity to support small and medium-sized enterprises, women entrepreneurs and start-ups in Cameroon and Africa,” she stated.

    Background: AfDB’s Transaction Guarantee

    The Transaction Guarantee is a trade finance instrument introduced by the African Development Bank in 2021 to support commercial banks operating in Africa. It covers a range of trade-related instruments, including confirmed letters of credit, commercial loans, irrevocable repayment undertakings, endorsed drafts and promissory notes, among others.

    The facility is available to banks registered and operating in Africa that have successfully passed the Bank’s due diligence process, helping them reduce perceived risk from international confirming banks and expand access to trade finance for their clients.

    About the African Development Bank Group

    The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s leading development finance institution, comprising the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). With representation in 41 African countries and a field office in Japan, the Bank supports economic development and social progress across its 54 regional member states.

    Source Credit:

    African Development Bank Group (AfDB) – press release distributed by APO Group, 2 December 2025.

  • AfDB Tasks African Leaders on Industrialisation towards Transforming the Continent’s Economies

    AfDB Tasks African Leaders on Industrialisation towards Transforming the Continent’s Economies

    African Development Bank (AfDB) has urged the continent to accelerate industrialisation for the transformation of African economies.

    The multilateral development bank has been at the forefront in promoting smart industrial policies and mobilising infrastructure development funding for Africa.

    To this end, the bank has described Industrialising Africa as one of its High-5 key strategic aims, critical for the transformation of African economies.

    “Industrialisation, where we add value to what we competitively produce and then export, and also trade among ourselves on the back of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) within a market of 1.3 billion people, should be prioritised and delivered,” said the bank’s Vice President, Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, Solomon Quaynor, in a message to mark Africa Industrialisation Day 2020, themed: “Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialisation in AfCFTA Era.”

    Quaynor noted that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had sharpened the need to accelerate industrialisation and urged a greater role for the private sector, including as a partner to the public sector.

    “Resilience is key, and that means no matter the external shocks in the future, we should rebuild so that our people, particularly youth and women who head our households, have jobs and better incomes,” he said.

    The bank assured of its commitment to the operationalisation of AfCFTA. In August 2019, the institution extended a sum of $4.8 million grant to support the establishment of AfCFTA Secretariat in Ghana.

    AfDB is also working with African countries that are developing strategies for implementation of AfCFTA, helping them to build capacity and leverage opportunities provided by freer trade.

    When businesses could trade across borders, then industry could expand, economies could be diversified, and countries could move up the value chain, said the bank’s 2020 Annual Development Effectiveness Review (ADER) released this week.

    The report suggested that the bank’s investments in 2019 benefited one million people. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that benefited from bank projects trebled their turnover to $1 billion.

    Several projects recently approved by the bank are expected to help regional member countries exploit opportunities, including the construction and operation of a submarine internet cable in Seychelles and a project to expand access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises in West Africa, the report noted.

    The African Development Bank is also promoting development of economic zones that bring together an enabling business environment, backbone integrated infrastructure and transport near to agricultural production hubs.

    “Agro-Industrial Processing Zones aim to train young people in rural areas with the needed skills and attract companies, particularly SMEs,” the bank’s Director, Agricultural Finance and Rural Development, Atsuko Toda, also commented.

    The pandemic has also spurred opportunities for Africa to strengthen local manufacturing capabilities for basic and essential medicines, personal protective equipment and other medical equipment.

    “The bank is undertaking a ground-breaking study to develop a plan for this, which will be ready before the end of the year. The plan will highlight opportunities, challenges, policy reforms required, financing windows and strategic partnerships to be forged to make this happen,” said Director of Industrial and Trade Development at the African Development Bank, Abdu Mukhtar.

    Celebrated each year on November 20, Africa Industrialisation Day offers governments and development partners opportunities to explore or highlight initiatives that advance Africa’s industrialisation.

    Idowu Sowunmi

  • African Development Bank Appoints Wambui as Acting Vice President

    African Development Bank Appoints Wambui as Acting Vice President

    African Development Bank Group has announced the appointment of Wambui Gichuri as Acting Vice President (Agriculture, Human and Social Development) effective July 5.

    Wambui joined the African Development Bank Group in 2018 as Director, Water Development and Sanitation. She currently oversees the bank’s water sector programme of over $ 4.5 billion covering 44 countries and multinational projects.

    Commenting on her appointment, the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, said: “I am very pleased that Wambui agreed to step into this role as Acting Vice President.

    “The Vice Presidency Complex on Agriculture, Human and Social Development has some of our largest programmes and flagship initiatives.

    “With her extensive experience, leadership, people management skills, and strong execution capacity, I am confident that she will help strengthen the team and accelerate execution on critical programmes and initiatives.”

    Wambui supervises two divisions: the Water Development, Coordination and Partnerships, and Water Security and Sanitation divisions, as well as the African Water Facility divisions, a project preparation facility.

    She also leads the development and coordination of the technical programme, manages the department’s human resources and budget and the development of extensive partnership activities.

    Her leadership role includes water sector policy dialogue, strategy and business development, and spearheading innovations.

    Before joining the African Development Bank, she worked for the World Bank where she served in various capacities for 20 years, including 17 years in water resources management, supply, sanitation, irrigation and drainage, with vast experience in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

    Wambui holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from University of Nairobi, Kenya (1988); a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in Economics (1986) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Sociology (1983) from the same university.