China Development Bank to support SMEs in Africa with $400-million loan to Cairo-based Afreximbank

The China Development Bank (CDB) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) inked Monday August 28 a $400-mllion loan to be used to support the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.

President of CDB, Mr. Tan Jiong, and President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, signed the deal at Afreximbank’s headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Per the deal, the loan which has a seven-year tenor, will be deployed either directly to eligible African SMEs that meet Afreximbank’s requirements or indirectly through local financial intermediaries.

African SMEs continue to struggle to access adequate and affordable financing for growing their businesses, Prof. Oramah said at the signing ceremony, noting that the CDB facility would help increase the level of financing available to them.

“This facility further strengthens the strategic partnership we have developed with the China Development Bank over the last six years, which has seen CDB make three previous interventions in support of our work at Afreximbank,” Oramah stressed.

CDB has cooperated with African Export-Import Bank seven times in credit issuance since 2009, resulting in loans totaling $800 million.