Cameroonian businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will enjoy improved access to trade finance through a €40 million facility from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to AFG Bank Cameroon. The financing will help businesses, particularly those owned by women and young people, to strengthen local production capacity, grow trade and create jobs.
The facility, approved by the Bank Group’s Board of Directors on 21 October 2026, comprises two instruments: a trade finance credit line of up to €30 million over 3.5 years with a three-year grace period, and a transaction guarantee facility of €10 million over five years to support AFG Bank’s trade finance activities.
Through this financing agreement, AFG Bank Cameroon is stepping up its support for private businesses, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The facility will strengthen the bank’s capacity to meet the foreign trade needs of local businesses, particularly in the agribusiness, agro-industry, and manufacturing and import-export sectors. It will also enable the AfDB to provide up to 100 per cent guarantee to confirming banks to facilitate the confirmation of letters of credit and other similar trade finance instruments issued by AFG Bank Cameroon.
“By facilitating access to trade finance for Cameroonian businesses, the AfDB is helping to strengthen the private sector, boost local production and create opportunities for growth and employment,” said Léandre Bassolé, Bank Group Director General for Central Africa and Country Manager for Cameroun. “Through this partnership with AFG Bank Cameroon, we are reaffirming our commitment to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly those led by women and young people, so that they can seize the opportunities offered by trade and contribute further to the country’s economic development.”
For beneficiary businesses, the facility will ease access to finance for international operations, particularly the import of equipment, machinery and inputs essential for production. It will also help to boost local production, reduce dependence on certain imported finished goods and increase competitiveness and export capacity of businesses.
Emphasising the facility’s priorities, Eric Valery Zoa, AFG-Bank Cameroon’s managing director, said, “Half of the trade finance credit line will be allocated to SMEs, and 30 per cent of that will go to enterprises owned by women or young people. This inclusive approach builds on AFG Bank Cameroon’s existing portfolio, which includes businesses owned by women and young people.”
About the African Development Bank Group’s Transaction Guarantee
The Transaction Guarantee is one of the trade finance instruments introduced by the AfDB to support commercial banks in Africa. It was launched in 2021 and covers a range of trade finance instruments, including confirmed letters of credit, trade loans, irrevocable repayment undertakings, endorsed bills of exchange and promissory notes, amongst others. The facility is available to all banks registered and operating in Africa which have passed the AfDB’s due diligence process.
