CRDB is a leading bank in Tanzania. It was set up in 1996 and has been listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange since 2009. Its main shareholders are the Danish fund DANIDA and Tanzania’s Public Service Social Security Fund. The bank has the most extensive network of branches in Tanzania and is the first bank in the country to be eligible for the Green Climate Fund.
The project involves supporting the bank’s development of its SME loans, via a USD 50m senior credit line and a EUR 18.5m EURIZ guarantee, as well as a technical assistance grant to assist the bank with its loans for women entrepreneurs. A EUR 8m Choose Africa Resilience guarantee will also support companies affected by the health crisis.
The main expected impacts of the project are:
- Support for the economic development of Tanzania by financing CRDB’s corporate clients, mainly made up of SMEs and microenterprises, which are historically unserved or underserved by the country’s banking sector;
- A contribution to formal employment in Tanzania, with some 4,800 jobs maintained;
- Support for private initiatives led by women entrepreneurs and “green” projects (renewable energies, water and sanitation, energy efficiency, green buildings…) through the EURIZ guarantee;
- Support for companies hard hit by the health crisis through the Choose Africa Resilience guarantee.
This project is carried out with the support of the European Union and Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)