Our £19 million risk-sharing deal with Ecobank is supporting job creation and private sector growth across Sierra Leone’s key industries.
Sierra Leone’s economy is hampered by a depreciating currency driven by high inflation, a large trade deficit from heavy reliance on imports, and underinvestment in infrastructure and services. The private sector plays a key role in Sierra Leone’s economy, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ about 70 per cent of the population. However, many SMEs struggle to gain access to capital due to a lack of suitable financial products, high collateral requirements, high interest rates and reliance on short-term loans.
In 2024, we announced a £19 million risk-sharing arrangement with Ecobank Sierra Leone to boost private sector growth in high-impact sectors. This was the first investment made by the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA), which we set up to unlock investment opportunities in frontier economies in Africa and encourage investment from DFIs. It also builds on £36 million of lending agreed between BII and Ecobank in 2021, which helped the bank support companies in frontier markets such as Burkina Faso, Chad and Togo.
The arrangement, which includes a comprehensive technical assistance programme supported by BII Plus, will help Ecobank offer more local currency loans to growing businesses in critical sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, agro-processing, infrastructure and manufacturing. This is expected to boost business growth, create more jobs and increase private sector support for Sierra Leone’s economy. Our technical assistance will also help to enhance the bank’s environmental and social due diligence.
