DODOMA, September 18, 2026 — The African Export-Import Bank [Afreximbank] has extended a US$10-million financing facility to Azania Bank Tanzania to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs] across Tanzania’s export value chains and strengthen their participation in regional and international trade.
Delivered under Afreximbank’s Export SME Development Programme [ESDP], the facility will enable Azania Bank to provide eligible SMEs with working capital and medium-term financing to support business expansion, asset acquisition, and pre- and post-export operations.
The financing is expected to boost productivity and enhance SMEs’ participation in regional and global value chains, while addressing persistent financing gaps that constrain SME growth and export development.
Azania Bank will on-lend the funds to eligible SMEs engaged in export-oriented activities across key sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, trade, technology, logistics and value-added exports.
The facility will enhance the bank’s capacity to meet the growing financing needs of SMEs and emerging businesses, which play a vital role in Tanzania’s industrialisation and trade agenda.
The initiative is expected to support business growth, create employment opportunities, improve export readiness and strengthen Tanzania’s participation in regional value chains. It will also help SMEs leverage opportunities arising from the African Continental Free Trade Area [AfCFTA] by enhancing their capacity to participate effectively in cross-border trade and regional supply networks.
In addition to financing, Afreximbank will provide participating SMEs with structured business development support, including export-readiness training, financial management advisory services, market-linkage opportunities, digitalisation support, and access to SME-focused knowledge and networking platforms.
These interventions are designed to strengthen enterprise resilience, improve competitiveness and enable SMEs to scale up sustainably.
Doherty Oluranti, Managing Director, Export Development at Afreximbank, said: “SMEs are the backbone of Africa’s productive economy and are critical to driving industrialisation, value addition and trade-led growth. However, many businesses continue to face significant barriers to accessing the financing, market opportunities and technical support needed to scale and compete effectively.”
Oluranti added: “Through the Export SME Development Programme, Afreximbank is partnering with financial institutions such as Azania Bank to provide not only financing, but also the capacity-building and market-access solutions required for SMEs to grow, export and integrate into regional and global value chains.
“We believe this partnership will contribute meaningfully to Tanzania’s export development objectives and help unlock new opportunities for local enterprises under the AfCFTA.”
Yahaya Mbanka, Director, Business Development at Azania Bank Plc, said: “This facility will strengthen our ability to provide Tanzanian SMEs with the financing they need to grow their businesses, invest in productive capacity and pursue export opportunities.
“Our partnership with Afreximbank will also enable us to offer support that responds more closely to the needs of businesses operating across Tanzania’s key value chains.”
The facility, which supports Afreximbank’s mandate to promote trade, industrialisation and export development across Africa, also aligns with Tanzania’s priorities around domestic production, value addition, export diversification and regional trade integration.
Afreximbank’s 2025 Annual Trade Development Effectiveness Report [TDER] shows that the bank extended more than US$ 960 million to over 58,000 SMEs across Africa.
The initiative, which prioritised women- and youth-led enterprises, among others, provided trade finance facilities that enabled businesses to obtain the capital needed to scale up, engage in cross-border trade and expand into new markets.
https://thecooperator.news/afreximbank-ready-to-develop-country-programme-for-uganda/
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