Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco) recently borrowed USD 50 million from British International Investment (BII), the UK government’s development finance institution, with the goal of funding micro-, small and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) as well as climate-focused initiatives such as renewable energy generation. BII is looking to support the loan with technical assistance for Zanaco to develop its climate and gender-lens portfolios. The latter is part of the 2X Challenge, through which the development finance institutions of the G7 countries are working with various partners to promote women’s economic empowerment in developing countries.
Founded in 1969 and headquartered in the city of Lusaka, Zanaco offers banking services including: (1) personal banking; (2) corporate and investment banking; (3) commercial and agriculture banking; and (4) small and medium-sized enterprise banking. Zanaco serves approximately 980,000 customers as of 2022. As of 2021, the organization managed total assets of ZMW 26 billion (USD 1.4 billion).
Established in 1948 and formerly known as the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) Group, BII issues debt, equity and indirect investments with the aim of fostering growth in businesses expected to raise living standards in a sustainable manner in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The institution reports total assets of GBP 7.5 billion (USD 9.0 billion) as of June 2022. During 2021, BII disbursed investments totaling GBP 1.9 billion (USD 2.3 billion).
By Renata Samadova, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
BII press release
https://www.bii.co.uk/en/news-insight/news/british-international-investment-backs-zambian-small-businesses-and-climate-entrepreneurs/
Zanaco homepage
https://www.zanaco.co.zm
2X Challenge homepage
https://www.2xchallenge.org
BII homepage
https://www.bii.co.uk
Previous MicroCapital brief on BII
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-in-112m-deal-adb-bii-leapfrog-premji-invest-in-shubham-housing-development-finance-of-india-as-elevar-motilal-oswal-private-equity-exit
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