Afreximbank lends $10M to Tanzania's Azania Bank to fund export-focused SMEs
What's the deal? The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has extended a $10 million finance facility to Tanzania's Azania BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to widen access to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the country's export value chains.
What's the endgame? Azania Bank will on-lend the funds to eligible SMEs working in agriculture, manufacturing, trade, technology, logistics, and value-added exports. The money covers both working capital and medium-term financing for business expansion, asset acquisition, and pre- and post-export operations.
The facility comes through Afreximbank's Export SME Development Programme, which pairs lending with support such as export readiness training, financial management advice, market linkages, and digitalisation help.
Why now? The deal targets a persistent financing gap that limits SME growth and export development. It also aims to help Tanzanian firms tap the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by boosting their capacity for cross-border trade.
What they're saying: "SMEs are the backbone of Africa's productive economy and are critical to driving industrialisation, value addition and trade-led growth," said Oluranti Doherty, Afreximbank's managing director for export development. She noted many businesses "continue to face significant barriers to accessing the financing, market opportunities and technical support needed to scale."
Yahaya Mbanka, director of business development at Azania Bank, said the 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."
The signal: The facility fits Afreximbank's broader mandate to fund trade, industrialisation, and export development across Africa. By routing capital through local banks rather than lending directly, it aims to reach smaller enterprises that anchor Tanzania's industrialisation and trade agenda.
Read more: afreximbank.africa-newsroom.com
Image credit: Axel Bührmann
