IFC and Bridge Bank Group Partner to Boost SME Finance in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal
Business
Under the facility, IFC will guarantee 50 percent of a portfolio of eligible short-term loans originated by BBGCI to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal.
In parallel, IFC will provide advisory services to support BBGCI to make optimal use of the RSF, thus enabling the bank to provide an estimated additional 2,100 SME loans by 2028, providing these companies with vital means to grow and create more jobs. At least 30% of the cumulative loan disbursement under the facility will be earmarked for women-owned and women-led SMEs.
According to the WBG Enterprise Surveys, 78 percent of SMEs in Côte d'Ivoire cite financing constraints as a major obstacle to their growth, and 21 percent of firms in Senegal report being fully credit-constrained. This partnership will help address this challenge, boosting opportunities to drive economic growth.
IFC's financing support to BBGCI falls under the Small Loan Guarantee Program (SLGP), a programmatic approach to de-risking and scaling up financing for SMEs in countries classified by the International Development Agency (IDA) as small, fragile and/or conflict-affected. The SLGP is supported by the IDA IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window's Blended Finance Facility.
IFC's relationship with BBGCI spans back to May 2021 when the bank joined IFC's Global Trade Finance Program, thereby accessing a trade finance facility of US$10 million. The partnership reflects IFC's broader strategic objective to drive economic development and job creation by partnering with local financial institutions in West Africa to foster access to finance for SMEs.