By Standard Reporter
Kenya: Regional development finance institution East African Development Bank (EADB) will Thursday sign a 25 million euro (Sh2.8 billion) line of credit with the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The credit is for co-financing debt and leasing transactions for start-up, expansion, diversification and modernisation projects undertaken by private sector SMEs in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
EADB Director-General Vivienne Yeda and EIB Vice-President Pim van Ballekom will sign the agreement.
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Speaking ahead of the formal signing of the line of credit yesterday, Yeda asked the private sector to take advantage of the relative peace in the region as well as its resources and large population to innovate more, diversify and discover new markets
“I am pleased that the facility we are signing with EIB Thursday will enable private sector enterprises, particularly SMEs that are innovative and hungry for expansion, to access affordable credit,” she added.
The new EIB-backed lending programme is the first joint engagement to improve access to investment loans by small and medium-sized companies.
It is expected to represent the start of a new era of cooperation between EIB and the East African Community’s financial institution.
