Access Holdings Plc, a leading African financial services group led by Nigerian banker and investor Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede , has struck a deal to expand lending to small businesses in Sierra Leone. The agreement, signed through its subsidiary Access Bank Sierra Leone, is with the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank
As part of the arrangement , Access Bank Sierra Leone will receive an unfunded risk-sharing facility of up to 10 million in local currency. The program is designed to ease constraints for small and medium-sized enterprises, a sector widely seen as the backbone of Sierra Leones economy but chronically underserved by banks.
The facility is expected to support about 20 million in fresh loans, with at least 25 percent earmarked for women-led companies. Access Bank has also set a goal of more than doubling the share of female-owned firms in its SME portfolio, aiming to push that figure above 50 percent in the next five years.