Coris Bank secured a 30 million 34.3 million senior loan from Proparco to boost SME credit in Cte dIvoire, addressing critical financing gaps.
Since 2021, Coris and Proparco expanded their partnership across West Africa, supporting trade finance and local industry growth.
Coris Bank now manages 9 billion in assets across seven countries, pursuing further expansion into Central Africa, including Gabon.
Coris Bank International, the Burkina Faso-based lender founded by Idrissa Nassa, has secured a 30 million 34.3 million senior loan from Proparco, the private sector arm of the French Development Agency AFD. The funding is aimed at expanding the banks ability to provide credit to small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs in Cte dIvoire.
Announced earlier this month, the loan follows a trade finance guarantee renewed in April 2025 between the two partners. Both initiatives are designed to ease the persistent financing hurdles faced by Ivorian SMEs. We look forward to deepening our collaboration with Proparco, especially around international trade, as we stay committed to supporting African entrepreneurs and building stronger, more sustainable value chains, said Nassa, President of Coris Group.
Coris Bank, Proparco extend finance pactCoris and Proparco began working together in 2021 when Proparco issued its first trade finance guarantee to Coris Bank Burkina Faso. Since then, the partnership has grown to include subsidiaries in Senegal, Togo, Benin, and more recently, Chad. Cte dIvoires Coris Bank subsidiary is now the second largest in the group, after Burkina Faso.
The need for SME financing in Cte dIvoire is significant. A 2016 survey found that one in four SMEs cited limited access to finance as their biggest challenge. The International Finance Corporation estimates that the funding gap for these businesses stands at CFA1.368 trillion 2.4 billion.
The new facility builds on an earlier agreement signed in April this year, when Coris Bank Chad secured 7 million 7.6 million in trade finance from Proparco. That financing was used to help import essential raw materials for local industries in Chad, part of a broader effort to ease supply shortages and support sectors key to the country's growth.