The African Development Bank Group has approved a $310 million financial package for FirstRand Bank to expand lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in South Africa. The support places strong emphasis on women-led businesses and agribusinesses, aiming to enhance access to capital for groups that traditionally face significant financing barriers. As one of Africa’s largest financial institutions, FirstRand Bank is well positioned to channel this support through its major commercial banking arm, FNB, to contribute to South Africa’s socio-economic transformation and inclusive growth.
The financing package includes three main components: a $200 million line of credit to support MSMEs across various sectors, a $100 million gender-targeted line of credit for women-led and women-owned enterprises, and a $10 million concessional line dedicated to women-owned agricultural small businesses through the Agri-Food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism. This structure underscores the Bank’s confidence in FirstRand’s reach and capacity to stimulate job creation and entrepreneurship, particularly among underserved groups.
A notable aspect of the package is its explicit focus on gender empowerment. With $110 million earmarked for women entrepreneurs, the initiative aligns closely with the African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) and the Agri-Food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism. These allocations aim to narrow the gender financing gap and provide women farmers and business owners—who often remain excluded from formal credit—access to more favorable lending conditions.
Beyond financing, the package includes technical assistance and performance-based incentives designed to boost the viability of women-led enterprises, enhance agricultural lending capacities within FNB, and explore alternative credit assessment methods. This combined approach strengthens the entire support system for small businesses, especially those in agriculture, where many smallholder farmers remain credit-deprived despite their central role in the sector.
Officials from both institutions highlighted that this partnership marks a significant step toward fostering inclusive economic growth in South Africa. The initiative reinforces the African Development Bank’s long-term development strategies, including its Four Cardinal Points priorities and Ten-Year Strategy for 2024–2033, which focus on private sector development, gender equality, and broad-based economic inclusion.
