LAGOS – The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Standard Chartered announced Wednesday a $300 million risk-sharing facility to boost supply chain financing and economic growth across eight African nations.
The facility aims to bridge the continent’s massive trade finance gap by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in critical sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing.
Under the agreement, the IFC will provide a $150 million guarantee to help Standard Chartered expand lending to 8 local suppliers in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia .
The initiative is expected to facilitate $1.9 billion in trade-related transactions over the next three years, potentially benefiting over one million farmers and hundreds of local businesses.
By providing early payment on invoices and receivables discounting, the partnership provides essential liquidity to businesses struggling with high interest rates and global supply chain disruptions.
“Supply chain finance is among the fastest ways to narrow the growing finance gap that businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, are facing in emerging economies,” said Mohamed Gouled, IFC’s Vice President, Products & Clients.
The move comes as African economies face mounting pressure from currency volatility and a $2.7 trillion global supply chain finance gap that disproportionately affects emerging markets.
Recent data shows Nigeria’s gross external reserves crossed $47 billion in February, providing a more stable backdrop for such large-scale international financial interventions in the region.
The facility is part of the IFC’s Africa Trade and Supply Chain Recovery Initiative, designed to build systemic resilience against global economic shocks and trade barriers.
