SBM Bank Kenya has inked a risk-sharing agreement with the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) that will see them avail Sh1.2billion to women-led businesses and climate-focused Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
The fund seeks to mitigate the challenge of access to affordable credit with favourable terms, a major challenge MSMEs and women-led enterprises face as they aim at scaling up their businesses.
Speaking during the signing of the pact, SBM Bank Kenya Chief Executive Officer Moezz Mir noted that the bank is committed to helping overcome the hurdle by exploring innovative ways of mitigating the financial risks MSMEs face.
“This facility is unique in several ways as it represents an investment, productivity and the acceleration of growth opportunities and realization of the UN sustainable development goals,” Moezz Mir.
He further noted that the agreement is aimed at realizing the bank’s strategic objectives, which are anchored around transforming the SME sector, supporting women-led businesses and offering sustainable finance to businesses that focus on clean energy, cleaner production, green services and climate-smart agriculture and natural resource management.
African Guarantee Fund Group CEO Jules Ngankam established that the partnership will empower the SMEs and women-led businesses to play their economic development, innovation, and job creation role in the country.
“Our guarantee agreement with SBM Bank Kenya is structured to solve the holistic needs of SMEs by not only reducing their perceived risk but also enabling the bank through our Capacity Development initiative to help small businesses ramp up their skills in areas such as leadership, human capital management, technology, financial management and marketing,” Jules Ngankam.
Moreover, the partnership seeks to advance sustainable growth by increasing financing for SMEs that are climate-focused, in addition to empowering women and entrepreneurs through the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Guarantee for growth products.
Read also; SBM Bank Announces Intended Redundancies.
