Ecobank, AfCFTA strike deal to unlock $3bn for African businesses, SMEs

Ecobank Group and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday to accelerate intra-African trade. The agreement aims to close the continent's widening trade finance gap, focusing on SMEs, women-led businesses, and young entrepreneurs. The MoU builds on Ecobank's recent announcement at the Africa-Forward Summit in Nairobi, where they unveiled a $3 billion trade finance commitment to be deployed over the next three years.

The AfCFTA Secretariat will help channel that commitment toward businesses that have been locked out of traditional trade finance. According to H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, "Through this partnership with Ecobank, we are strengthening the support available to African businesses, particularly SMEs, women-led enterprises, and young entrepreneurs, to enable greater participation in intra-African trade and value chains across the continent." Michael Larbie, Group Executive, Corporate and Investment Banking at Ecobank, said, "With our unmatched presence across 34 African markets and our digital capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to serve as a catalyst for the AfCFTA. This MoU formalises our commitment to connecting African businesses to the markets, finance, and knowledge they need to thrive."

The two institutions will focus on six priority areas: SME capacity building, closing the trade finance gap, Single Market Trade Hub, business referrals, policy advocacy, and thought leadership. No timeline for the rollout of specific programs under the MoU was immediately disclosed, but both parties said implementation would begin immediately.