DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (XOL Africa) — The African Export-Import Bank has extended a $10 million financing facility to Azania Bank to expand access to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises across Tanzania’s export value chains, the institutions said Thursday.
The facility, provided under Afreximbank’s Export SME Development Programme, will enable Azania Bank to offer eligible businesses working capital and medium-term financing for expansion, asset acquisition and pre- and post-export activities.
The financing is intended to help SMEs increase productivity, participate in regional and international value chains and address funding constraints that have limited business and export growth.
Azania Bank will on-lend the funds to eligible SMEs involved in export-oriented activities in sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, trade, technology, logistics and value-added exports.
“SMEs are the backbone of Africa’s productive economy and are critical to driving industrialisation, value addition and trade-led growth,” said Oluranti Doherty, managing director of export development at Afreximbank.
“Through the Export SME Development Programme, Afreximbank is partnering with financial institutions such as Azania Bank to provide not only financing, but also the capacity building and market access solutions required for SMEs to grow, export and integrate into regional and global value chains,” Doherty said.
The program will also provide participating SMEs with business development support, including export-readiness training, financial management advice, market-linkage opportunities, digitalization assistance and access to SME-focused knowledge and networking platforms.
Yahaya Mbanka, director of business development at Azania Bank, said the facility would strengthen the bank’s ability to finance businesses seeking to expand and invest in productive capacity.
“This facility will strengthen our ability to provide Tanzanian SMEs with the financing they need to grow their businesses, invest in productive capacity and pursue export opportunities,” Mbanka said. “Our partnership with Afreximbank will also enable us to offer support that responds more closely to the needs of businesses operating across Tanzania’s key value chains.”
The initiative aligns with Tanzania’s priorities of increasing domestic production, promoting value addition, diversifying exports and strengthening regional trade integration. It is also expected to help SMEs take advantage of opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Afreximbank said its 2025 Annual Trade Development Effectiveness Report showed that the bank provided more than $960 million to over 58,000 SMEs across Africa. The initiative included support for women- and youth-led enterprises and provided trade-finance facilities aimed at helping businesses expand and engage in cross-border commerce.
Afreximbank, headquartered in Cairo, is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution that finances and promotes intra- and extra-African trade.
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