EBID Grants a XOF 7 Billion Line of Credit to the Agricultural Bank of Niger
On 22 September 2021, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) granted a line of credit of seven billion francs CFA to the Agricultural Bank of Niger to reinforce their financing capacity in the Republic of Niger. The facility agreement was signed by Dr George Agyekum DONKOR, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBID and Mr. Maman Lawal MOSSI, Managing Director of the Agricultural Bank of Niger.
The Agricultural Bank of Niger will apply the credit facility to finance medium-term loans for SMEs and SMIs and increase the volume of their financing towards the agricultural sector in the Republic of Niger. It will further expand access to resources for the agribusiness sector while facilitating expansion and industrialisation to enable producers to transform their agricultural product within the value chain. Overall, the on-lending of the line of credit by the Agricultural Bank of Niger to SMEs and SMIs will support their growth, promote business activities, and result in the creation of over three thousand jobs in the Republic of Niger.
Whilst expressing the critical role that the agricultural sector plays in the economic development of the ECOWAS sub-region, the President of EBID remarked that the credit facility will help SMEs and SMIs in the Republic of Niger to industrialise their production of agricultural products by enabling them to access new and modern technology. According to the President of EBID, the facility would bring EBID’s total intervention in the Republic of Niger to circa USD70 million.
