Ecobank Benin has just benefited from a portfolio guarantee line for a total amount of 1.6 billion CFA francs. This fund granted by the African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises (AGF) will support SMEs, women's entrepreneurship and the green economy in Benin. The signing ceremony took place in the offices of Ecobank Benin's headquarters in Cotonou.

The guarantee line signed by Lazare NOULEKOU, Managing Director of ECOBANK Benin and Bendjin KPEGLO, Managing Director of AGF WEST AFRICA, allows, on the one hand, to overcome the difficulties related to the lack of guarantee encountered by SMEs / SMIs and which constitute a obstacle to the financing of their activities and on the other hand to further increase its commitment to the SME/SMI segment while promoting the development of women's leadership in the private sector. This portfolio guarantee includes a component of the AFAWA program, a joint initiative of the AfDB and the African Guarantee Fund that aims to unlock up to USD 3 billion in loans to women-owned SMEs in Africa.