Ecobank Group commits US$2.6bn to women-led businesses and agribusinesses across Africa
The announcement was made during the Ecobank@40 Media Conference in Lomé, as the pan-African banking group marked the conclusion of its 40th anniversary year.
Ecobank Group, a pan-African bank, has pledged a combined USD 2.6 billion over the next decade to finance women-led businesses and agribusinesses across its 34 African markets. This announcement was made during the Ecobank@40 Media Conference in Lomé to mark the completion of the bank's 40th anniversary year.
The USD 2.0 billion earmarked for women entrepreneurs will be provided through Ecobank's flagship Ellevate programme. This initiative aims to develop a strong loan portfolio of USD 2.0 billion dedicated to women-led enterprises by 2030. Ecobank currently supports over 110,000 women-run businesses and plans to increase its registered client base to 400,000 formal enterprises.
The expanded Ellevate framework will offer unsecured and partially secured credit facilities, backed by strategic development finance institution guarantee partnerships. The focus of this programme will be on sectors such as agribusiness, education, and healthcare.
Ecobank has also committed USD 600 million in outstanding loans exclusively for agriculture-focused SMEs by 2030. This initiative, under the "Farm-to-Fork" approach, will support the entire agricultural value chain, including farmers, aggregators, processors, logistics providers, traders, and exporters. The strategy prioritizes climate-smart agriculture, digital payment channels in rural supply chains, and structured trade finance to support regional food markets and reduce Africa's dependence on food imports.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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