The African Export‑Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a new $15 million financing facility for Ecobank Zimbabwe under its Export SME Development Programme (ESDP), aiming to boost export‑oriented small businesses across several sectors.
Details of the financing package
The fund will cover both working‑capital needs and capital‑expenditure projects for small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in export value chains. Targeted industries include agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, technology and the creative sector.
Ecobank Zimbabwe will act as the licensed intermediary, linking Afreximbank’s trade‑finance expertise with the bank’s local client network. According to the programme details, 43.75 % of the disbursements are earmarked for intra‑African trade activities, while 18 % will support manufacturing, reflecting a focus on industrialisation.
Strategic background and partnership history
The arrangement builds on a partnership that began in 2018, when the two institutions first collaborated to broaden SME access to finance. SMEs, which contribute more than 60 % of Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product and over 70 % of employment, have traditionally struggled to secure long‑term, export‑linked loans from conventional lenders.
Oluranti Doherty, Managing Director for Export Development at Afreximbank, said the facility aligns with the bank’s mandate to close structural financing gaps in African trade. “In Zimbabwe and across the continent, Afreximbank remains firmly committed to supporting SMEs as engines of export growth, economic resilience and long‑term development,” she said.
She added that the programme goes beyond credit provision, focusing on building the operational capacity of SMEs to integrate into regional and continental value chains.
Beyond the direct funding, the ESDP will provide technical assistance covering financial management, operations, export readiness, marketing and digitalisation. The goal is to improve credit quality, strengthen business sustainability and enhance SMEs’ ability to compete in export markets.
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From a broader perspective, linking financing to capacity‑building reflects a growing consensus among development agencies that credit alone rarely spurs lasting growth. By pairing capital with advisory services, the programme hopes to create a more self‑sufficient cohort of exporters that can weather market fluctuations without continual external support.
Moses Kurenjekwa, Managing Director of Ecobank Zimbabwe, highlighted the importance of the collaboration. “Small businesses are the engine of our economy, and access to appropriate, export‑linked financing is what enables them to grow, create jobs and compete regionally,” he said.
He noted that the joint effort combines Afreximbank’s development finance mandate with Ecobank’s local reach, offering a scalable solution for SME growth.
The initiative arrives as Zimbabwe positions itself along key Southern African trade corridors, including the North‑South Corridor between Dar es Salaam and Durban, and the Beira Corridor linking landlocked economies to Indian Ocean ports.
In the short term, the facility is expected to channel targeted financing to firms seeking to expand export capacity, while the accompanying technical assistance aims to raise overall business standards.
If successful, the program could serve as a template for similar interventions across the continent.
