A first for Proparco in the country, this project will see the AFD Group support and improve access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the agricultural sector.
Often considered a risky client portfolio by banks in developing and emerging economies, small and medium-sized enterprises struggle to access the adequate and sufficient credit that they need to develop their business.
Through granting its final loss guarantee, known under the name ARIZ, to Nedbank eSwatini, Proparco will enable the Southern African bank to develop and extend its offering to very small and medium-sized businesses.
For example, this risk-sharing mechanism ARIZ will allow Nedbank eSwatini to finance the creation of two agricultural cooperatives in the country.
These two cooperatives will also benefit from technical assistance and a grant from the European Union to support their development, notably for the implementation of an irrigation system.
As the first operation carried out in eSwatini, it paves the way for future financing of agricultural cooperatives in the country by the AFD Group. This operation is also part of the French Choose Africa Initiative.