L-R: Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre and Seyi Kumapayi, Executive Director, African Subsidiaries, Access Bank Plc./HANDOUT
The International Trade Centre (ITC) and Access Bank have partnered to expand financing, market access and skills development for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across 14 African countries.
The three-year partnership, signed through a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, will begin with a pilot programme in Ghana before being rolled out to other markets.
The countries covered by the initiative are Kenya, Ghana, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Guinea, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.
ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said access to finance remained a major challenge for African businesses seeking to participate in international and regional trade.
“Access to finance is the biggest barrier to trade faced by small businesses across Africa,” Coke-Hamilton said.
She said the partnership would help businesses acquire the knowledge, networks and market connections needed to expand.
Access Bank Executive Director for African Subsidiaries Seyi Kumapayi said financing on its own was not enough to enable small businesses to scale.
“We see every day that finance alone does not get a small business to scale. It is the combination of capital, market access and trade-ready skills that makes the difference,” Kumapayi said.
He said the partnership would combine Access Bank’s reach across African markets with ITC’s expertise in knowledge, networks and market connections.
The initiative is also aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5 on gender equality, Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth, and Goal 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure.
The programme seeks to address persistent challenges facing African SMEs, particularly limited access to finance and markets, which have constrained the ability of many small businesses to expand and create more jobs.
The initiative brings together ITC’s technical expertise in trade development and Access Bank’s banking network across the continent, with the partners seeking to provide businesses with financing alongside practical skills and market connections.
The partnership will focus on five areas: job creation through SMEs, access to finance, business sustainability, capacity building and access to markets.
Women- and youth-owned businesses will receive particular attention under the financing component, while the programme will also support intra-African trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).