August 24, 2020
Norfund has provided a loan of USD 15 million to First National Bank Ghana, to support the operations of the bank, including providing funding for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Many developing countries are suffering from the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, small and medium-sized enterprises in particular are dependent on reliable access to credit, and financial institutions play a vital role in this respect.
The loan from Norfund is part of a USD 85 million debt package syndicated by DEG, where Finnfund and Proparco are also participating. The loans from Norfund and our partners will support the banks’ operations going forward, including providing funding for small and medium sized enterprises in Ghana.
“The world at large is still dealing with the impact of the pandemic. We cannot downplay the importance of scaling up financial support that will help minimize the impact of the pandemic, particularly on SMEs. That is why we will capitalize on funding from institutions like DEG, Norfund, Finnfund and Proparco to engineer the expansion of real estate developments and ensure the sustainability of the private sector in Ghana”, said Dominic Adu, CEO of First National Bank Ghana
First National Bank Ghana was founded in 2015 with a strong digital banking focus and has been developing successfully ever since. The bank offers the full spectrum of banking services to retail and commercial clients, and has recently acquired GHL Bank, which is a leading provider of real estate finance in Ghana.
The loan from Norfund will support First National Bank Ghana’s strategy to increase funding for the retail and commercial clients.
“We want to support the financial sector in Ghana, especially during these challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic. This loan provides additional capacity for First National Bank Ghana to provide funding for affordable housing and SMEs,” said Erik Sandersen, EVP Financial Institutions in Norfund.
