Rwanda’s
private sector is set to benefit from a new €160 million (about
Rwf128.4 billion) credit facility from the European Investment Bank
(EIB), Europe’s long-term lending institution, and regional development
bank, PTA Bank.
The
EIB will provide €80 million loan for the new initiative, while PTA
Bank will also raise the same amount, a development that represents the
largest single private sector lending scheme ever backed by the EIB in
Africa, the two institutions said in press statement.
Rwanda
will be one of the 12 countries in the Common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa (Comesa) to benefit from the credit facility that
targets agribusiness, energy, manufacturing and service sector projects,
which will access loans for up to 15 years (euros or dollars), and
seven years for local currency.
The
new lending programme was announced by Admassu Tadesse, the PTA Bank
president, and Pat Walsh, EIB director responsible for lending outside
Europe, at PTA Bank regional office Nairobi, Kenya. PTA Bank is a
development bank for Comesa. The funding will be a big boost for
Rwanda’s SMEs which still face many challenges in accessing long-term
credit from local commercial banks.
“Unlike
recent private sector lending by the European Investment Bank in the
region, the new facility will not only target small-and-medium
enterprises (SMEs), but will also focus on supporting specific
investment needs of larger firms,” the statement indicated.
“We
are delighted to join forces with the EIB to give a much-needed boost
to increased investment in Comesa economies, which is key to
job-creation and economic transformation of the bloc,” Tadesse said.
Pim
van Ballekom, the EIB vice-president, said the funding will help firms
in the Comesa region to explore new business opportunities and create
more jobs. According to the statement, the facility will be supported by
a €2 million technical assistance programme to strengthen
environmental, social and money-laundering assessment skills of PTA
staff, and to improve assessment of the economic impact of projects
financed through the scheme.
Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt,
Ethiopia, Zambia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Seychelles, Mauritius, Malawi and
Mozambique make up the Comesa bloc.
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