French development finance institution Proparco and pan-African lender Ecobank have announced a major expansion of their partnership, mobilising up to EUR 300 million over three years to scale agricultural finance and women-led business support across Africa amid intensifying food security pressures on the continent.
The agreement, formalised through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), builds on a relationship dating back to 2012 during which Proparco has extended over $400 million in senior loans, trade finance guarantees and capital market support to Ecobank across multiple African markets.
The renewed partnership targets three priority areas: agricultural small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending, agro-industrial investment and agricultural commodity trade finance.
Proparco will deploy partial portfolio guarantees through its Impact+ and ARIZ programmes to reduce Ecobank’s risk exposure on agri-SME lending across 33 African countries, with a joint target of mobilising up to EUR 100 million for that segment over three years. A further EUR 200 million is earmarked for agro-industrial companies and agricultural commodity traders through co-financing and risk participation structures.
Ecobank Group Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Awori said the capital would flow directly into agricultural value chains and women-led businesses.
“This is capital at work in the real economy, financing food, livelihoods and local value creation,” he said.
Proparco Chief Executive Officer Françoise Lombard described agriculture as one of Africa’s most underfinanced sectors despite accounting for around 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and nearly half of employment across the continent, saying the partnership was designed to unlock large-scale solutions across the full agricultural value chain.
The partnership also expands Ecobank’s pan-African Ellevate programme, which supports women-led and women-owned businesses across more than 30 countries and has already reached 84,000 enterprises since its 2020 launch. With Proparco’s backing, Ecobank will deliver 12-month business and financial management training to 400 women entrepreneurs in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Kenya.
The announcement comes as geopolitical tensions, rising energy prices and supply chain disruptions continue to strain African food systems, with sustained high prices threatening to push tens of millions into acute food insecurity across East and West Africa.
