Ecobank earmarks $2.6bn for women, agribusiness lending

Ecobank Group, headquartered in Lomé, Togo, has announced a $2.6 billion lending target by 2030 dedicated to women-led businesses and agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa. This commitment, revealed at the Ecobank@40 Media Conference, includes $2 billion in outstanding loans for women entrepreneurs through its Ellevate programme and $600 million in loans for agriculture-focused SMEs.

The targets were set to address the persistent financing constraint faced by women-owned businesses in Africa, where Ecobank estimates a $42 billion financing gap. Ecobank, which operates in 34 sub-Saharan African countries and serves more than 32 million customers, aims to increase its registered base of formal women-led businesses to 400,000 by 2030, up from 110,000 supported to date.

The bank's strategy for agriculture focuses on climate-smart farming, digital payments, and structured trade finance to support the wider value chain, from production to distribution. This initiative aligns with the African Development Bank's Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa, which has partnered with over 200 financial institutions to channel more than $3.1 billion to women-led businesses.

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