The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced an initiative aimed at providing robust and comprehensive financing solutions to support and boost activities of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.
A statement from the bank yesterday, explained that the financing initiative would be powered by UBA’s recent partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat to provide financing for up to $6 billion over the next three years to eligible SMEs across Africa, an agreement which was signed on the sidelines of the 30th Afreximbank Annual Meeting (AAM) which was held in Accra, Ghana.
Through the initiative, UBA would be giving SMEs the opportunity to access financing for small businesses that specialise in the key sectors of agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive and Transport and Logistics.
By the agreement, UBA and AfCFTA agreed to promote the development of SMEs operating in four sectors under the first phase of the partnership which are largely import dependent, by providing technical and financing solutions for intra-African/domestic alternatives. The economic sectors are agro-processing, automotive, pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics.
The Deputy Managing Director of UBA, Muyiwa Akinyemi, who signed the agreement on behalf of the bank, noted that being Africa’s global bank, UBA was committed to supporting the growth/development of SMEs across Africa.