Proparco and the EU back a $10m guarantee for small businesses in DR Congo
Signed at the Africa Financial Summit in Luanda, the deal lets Ecobank lend more, with a part aimed at women and young founders.
Taiwo Banjoko
Luanda — Congolese entrepreneurs often cannot borrow because they lack the collateral banks ask for. A new guarantee signed in Luanda on Tuesday aims to ease that.
Proparco and the Ecobank group signed a $10 million portfolio guarantee, backed by the European Union, at the Africa Financial Summit, which ran on 3 and 4 November in the Angolan capital.
The deal has two parts:
- Growth: one guarantee supports the expansion of Ecobank DRC's lending to micro, small and medium enterprises.
- Priority borrowers: the other targets businesses led by women and young people, start-ups, and firms in agriculture, health, education and green activities.
It is the first concrete step under a memorandum the two signed at the Africa Forward Forum in Nairobi this year, which forms part of a programme of up to €100 million for African small businesses.
Source: Financial Afrik, November 2026.
