This project is still under review by the EWS. Project information and/or project analysis may be incomplete.
Ecobank RSF (IFC-36071)

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
U
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."
Borrower
ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Investment Amount (USD)
Not Disclosed
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.
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Disclosed by Bank Mar 13, 2015

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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.
Ecobank Transnational Inc. (&#8220;ETI&#8221; or &#8220;the Group&#8221;) is the leading pan-African full service banking group, active in 36 African countries with a licensed operation in Paris and representative offices in Beijing, Dubai, Johannesburg, London and Luanda. As at December 31, 2013, the Group&#8217;s 19,546 staff served more than 10.4 million customers across Ecobank&#8217;s 1,284 branches.<br><br>Under the proposed project, IFC will be supporting ETI&#8217;s commitment to SME banking by providing risk mitigation and guarantee tools to multiple affiliates in fragile and conflict afflicted situations (&#8220;FCS&#8221;). This would enhance the participating banks&#8217; SME lending capacity and contribute to prudently growing the Group&#8217;s SME banking business. The project entails the provision of a Risk Sharing Facility (&#8220;RSF&#8221; or the &#8220;Facility&#8221;) in the amount of US$55 million to cover eight ETI affiliates in FCS &#8211; Burundi, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d&#8217;Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Togo, together the Participating Affiliates (&#8220;PAs&#8221;) for a target portfolio of SME loans in the amount of US$110 million.<br>The project includes resources mobilization from the IFC&#8217;s Global SME Facility (&#8220;SME Facility&#8221;).
People Affected By This Project
People Affected By This Project refers to the communities of people likely to be affected positively or negatively by a project.
Increasing of Access to finance: The project will make the risk/return profile of SMEs in the designated FCS more attractive to the participating ETI subsidiaries, thereby reducing financing constraints for SMEs in the targeted countries. This in turn would increase financing volumes to existing and new SME clients, ultimately contributing to bridging the wider financial access gap in FCS countries.<br>Strengthening of Financial Sector in FCS: Given the relatively small size of the real sectors in several FCS markets, the financial sector is usually highly exposed to government. Through the eligibility criteria, the RSF would support better allocation of resources across vital segments of the economy<br>and help the banks diversify their loan portfolios. This would strengthen the financial sector in FCS.<br>Private Sector Development: SMEs are the engine of private sector growth in developing countries, and more so in FCS. By facilitating access to finance for<br>SMEs, the project would support entrepreneurship, encourage investment in existing or new businesses, and promote international best practices among eligible SMEs. The medium term result would be a more vibrant private sector.<br>Job Creation: This RSF project will help generate private sector growth which in turn would create and/or maintain employment opportunities in FCS.
Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

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.
ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC 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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How it works