MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $15m in Local Currency to Stanbic Bank Zambia to Expand Financing to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced that it has disbursed a loan of ZMK 200 million (USD 15 million) to Stanbic Bank Zambia, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group. Commenting on the transaction, Stanbic Bank Zambia CEO Leina Gabaraane said, “The funding from IFC is timely and fits with our SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] strategy, which is aimed at leveraging our corporate banking ecosystem to identify new SMEs for funding. By 2022, we plan to quadruple the number of women-owned SME borrowers from 50 to about 200, representing an outstanding portfolio of ZMK 80 million (USD 6.26 million), up from ZMK 16 million (USD 1.25 million).” Stanbic Bank Zambia serves 150,000 customers in Zambia with total assets of ZMW 14.9 billion (USD 1.17 billion) and total equity of ZMW 1.63 billion (USD 128 million).

Established in 1862, Standard Bank Group is a South Africa-based financial services company that offers personal and business banking, corporate banking, investment banking and wealth management services. Its operations span 26 countries, of which 20 are in Africa. During 2018, the group generated return on equity of 18 percent, ending the year with total assets of ZAR 2.13 trillion (USD 153 billion).

IFC offers loans, equity investments, advisory services and technical assistance to private companies with the intent of alleviating poverty and promoting open and competitive markets in developing countries. As of 2019, IFC reports total assets of USD 94.3 billion.

The World Bank Group is a multilateral organization whose goal is “to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable way.” As of 2018, it has 189 member nations. The group encompasses: (1) the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association, which make up the World Bank; (2) IFC; (3) the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency; and (4) the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. During 2018, the World Bank has committed USD 66.9 billion of funding to partner countries.

By Eugene DeCosse, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

IFC press release
https://ifcextapps.ifc.org/ifcext/pressroom/ifcpressroom.nsf/0/6BCF79B369D40D938525843800431C22

Stanbic Bank Zambia homepage
https://www.stanbicbank.co.zm/

Stanbic Bank Zambia annual report
https://www.stanbicbank.co.zm/standimg/Zambia/fileDownloads/ZM_AnnualReport2018.pdf

Standard Bank Group homepage
https://www.standardbank.com

Standard Bank Group annual report
https://reporting.standardbank.com/results-reports/financial-results/

IFC homepage
https://www.ifc.org

IFC annual report
https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/annual+report/download

World Bank homepage
https://www.worldbank.org/

World Bank annual report
https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/annual-report

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Standard Bank, Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung (SAP) To Launch “AccessBanking” to Reach Unbanked in South Africa
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-standard-bank-systemanalyse-und-programmentwicklung-sap-to-launch-accessbanking-to-reach-unbanked-in-south-africa/