Republic of Congo - African Development Bank Extends €10 Million Guarantee to Ecobank Congo to Boost International Trade

allafrica.com · Feb 18, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a €10 million trade finance guarantee that will enable Ecobank Congo to boost trade flows across various sectors of the Congolese economy, including services and key foodstuffs. Under the terms of the guarantee, the African Development Bank will cover up to 100% of non-payment risk borne by banks that confirm letters of credit and other similar instruments issued by Ecobank Congo. The guarantee will support general trade as well as in IT and communications, transport, health, and education and essential foodstuffs including oil or sugar. The credit support will address Congo's short-term needs, as domestic industrial capacity does not yet fully meet local demand. Launched in 2021, the African Development Bank Group's transaction guarantees are trade finance instruments designed to support commercial banks across Africa. Available to eligible banks that meet the Bank's due diligence requirements, they cover a range of instruments including confirmed letters of credit, commercial loans and promissory notes. "This transaction guarantee illustrates the African Development Bank's ongoing commitment to strengthening the capacity of African banks to support international trade," said Lamin Drammeh, Head of the Trade Finance Division at the Bank Group. "By hedging the confirmation risk of letters of credit issued by Ecobank Congo, we are helping to streamline exchanges, reduce liquidity constraints and offer Congolese companies, especially SMEs, better access to regional and international markets." "This guarantee significantly strengthens our ability to support our customers in their international trade operations," said Olivier Brou Kouamé, Managing Director of Ecobank Congo . "It will allow us to offer more competitive and secure solutions to Congolese companies, especially SMEs, and to contribute actively to the dynamism of the national economy." Small and medium enterprises and other companies that are customers of Ecobank Congo and which engage in international trade are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the guarantee, which will also target businesses led by women and youth entrepreneurs as well as firms in the green growth sector. About transaction guarantees of the African Development Bank Group Transaction guarantees are among the trade finance instruments put in place by the African Development Bank to support commercial banks in Africa. They were launched in 2021 and cover a variety of trade finance instruments, including confirmed letters of credit, commercial loans, irrevocable repayment commitments, endorsed drafts and promissory notes, among others. The facility is available to all banks registered and operating in Africa, which have passed the due diligence process of the African Development Bank.