The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has partnered with working capital solutions provider C2FO to develop Africa’s first supply chain finance platform dedicated to small businesses.
Through this initiative, IFC aims to increase access to affordable finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises across the continent. As Makhtar Diop, managing director of IFC, stated, “IFC is committed to addressing the financing challenges faced by SMEs in Africa. By partnering with C2FO, we aim to unlock significant funding opportunities for these enterprises, enabling them to thrive and contribute to economic growth.”
The platform, which leverages C2FO’s dynamic discounting technology, will be deployed initially in Nigeria, where it’s estimated to unlock up to US$25 billion in annual financing for small businesses. Alexander Kemper, C2FO’s founder and chief executive, sees Nigeria as an ideal starting point, noting that the country has “an especially promising small business sector,” and adding that “it is only natural that this work begins in Africa’s most populated country.”
Nathalie Louat, IFC’s director of trade and supply chain finance, has previously emphasised the significance of supply chain finance, calling it a “very significant area of growth” for IFC and underscoring the institution’s efforts to encourage broader adoption among local banks in developing markets. To support this push, IFC has struck a series of partnerships with major international banks, including Citi and HSBC, to expand supply chain finance offerings, ensuring that SMEs in Africa can gain better access to working capital.
Article by John Basquill of Global Trade Review (GTR). Read more here or download the PDF below.
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