EBRD Begins Operations in Senegal with €15 Million Trade Finance Support for Ecobank and Local Businesses
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has taken its first step into Senegal by approving a trade finance facility of up to €15 million for Ecobank Senegal. The move is accompanied by a broader package of assistance aimed at helping small and medium-sized companies in the country.
This facility falls under the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme. It is intended to increase Senegal’s import and export activity, strengthen links with international financial institutions, and improve access to trade financing for micro, small and medium enterprises.
The money will be used to provide guarantees to confirming banks, thereby reducing both political and commercial payment risks for transactions.
Ecobank Senegal, part of the wider Ecobank Transnational group, will now be able to draw on the EBRD’s global network of partner banks.
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso welcomed the agreement, stating: “I am delighted to sign our first trade finance limit in the country with Ecobank Senegal, which we hope will be the start of a long-lasting partnership. This facility will help local businesses access essential goods, strengthen private sector growth and contribute to the country’s economic resilience.”
Sahid Yallou, Managing Director of Ecobank Senegal, said the facility reflects the bank’s ongoing commitment to supporting Senegalese companies — especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises — which he described as the real drivers of the national economy.
The EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme currently covers 28 economies and works with more than 130 issuing banks and over 800 partner banks worldwide.
In parallel, the EBRD has launched a dedicated support programme for Senegalese SMEs. The initiative combines customised financing, advisory services and policy dialogue to help strengthen the private sector. It follows the recent opening of a resident office in Dakar.
Available financing tools include credit lines routed through local partner banks, portfolio-based risk-sharing facilities for micro and small businesses, individual risk-sharing arrangements for medium-sized companies, and supply-chain finance solutions.
Senegal became a shareholder of the EBRD and an official country of operations last year. The bank noted the country’s important position as a gateway to West Africa and its membership of the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
This latest development follows the EBRD’s first investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, announced in January, when it provided a US$100 million trade finance facility to Nigeria’s Access Bank.