SLGP RSF Access Bank Sierra Leone (IFC-51338)

Countries
  • Sierra Leone
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
May 30, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
SLGP RSF Access Bank Sierra Leone
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Guarantee
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 10.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 20.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 27, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Apr 28, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project entails an unfunded Risk Sharing Facility (“RSF) of up to US 10 million equivalent in LCY (Sierra Leonean Leones), guaranteeing 50% of an up to US$20 million small and medium enterprises (“SME”) loan portfolio to be originated by Access Bank Sierra Leone Limited (“Access SL” or the “ABSL”) based in Sierra Leone. The Project will support the Bank to enhance its lending to SMEs, particularly women-owned and managed SMEs (“WSME and WMSMEs”). The Project is the first of IFC’s re-engagement in Sierra Leone after a GTFP transaction with Guaranty Trust Bank (Sierra Leone) in 2021. The Project would be processed under IFC’s Small Loans Guarantee Program (“SLGP”), a programmatic approach to de-risk and scale-up financing for SMEs in eligible countries.                                      

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project consists of an unfunded risk sharing facility (“RSF”) guaranteeing 50% of a small and medium enterprises (“SME”) loan portfolio to be originated by Access Bank Sierra Leone Limited (ABSL). The Project will support the Bank to enhance its lending to SMEs, particularly women SMEs (“WSME”) with a 25% carve out for WSMEs. The Bank indicated exposure to sectors such as Construction and Real Estate; Consumer Goods; Finance and Insurance; Plastic and Rubber; and Telecommunications. The E&S risks and impacts associated with the supported SME activities are considered limited and readily addressed through established mitigation measures. These risks are typically associated with occupational health and safety, waste and hazardous waste management, and air emissions, among others. The labor practices at AFB are generally aligned with IFC Performance Standard 2: Labor and Working Conditions. However, the bank will have to develop employee grievance mechanism. The overall portfolio risk is considered medium. For this investment, the Bank will be required to screen eligible SME loans against the IFC Exclusion List and Sierra Leone environmental and social laws and regulations. The Project has been categorized as FI-2 in accordance with IFC’s Sustainability Policy.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

An up to US$10 million unfunded Risk Sharing Facility equivalent in LCY, guaranteeing 50% of an up to US$20 million small and medium enterprises (“SME”) loan portfolio. The Bank operates 9 branches (7 branches from ABSL & 2 branches from acquiring Standard Chartered Sierra Leone), a total of 380 staffs and serves 80,000 customers. 

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Access Bank Sierra Leone Limited is a Tier III bank in Sierra Leone and ranks as the 5th largest bank in the country. ABSL is wholly owned by Access Bank PLC, which holds a 99% stake. ABSL is one of 15 subsidiaries of Access Bank PLC, the largest commercial bank in Nigeria by total assets. 


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Access Bank Sierra Leone 
Mr Ganiyu Sanni  
Country Managing Director          
+2348029496845 / +23233424221   
GANIYU.SANNI@accessbankplc.com 
Access Bank (SL) Ltd, 30 Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone        
https://sierraleone.accessbankplc.com/ 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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