CRDB secures $106 million Proparco-backed Tanzania trade finance deal

CRDB Bank Plc, Tanzania’s most valuable firm, has secured a $106 million Proparco-backed financing package to expand trade finance and lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Tanzania and across East Africa.

The €90 million ($106 million) agreements, signed at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, include portfolio guarantees and a trade finance facility designed to improve credit access for underserved businesses, particularly women- and youth-led enterprises. The deal positions CRDB to scale regional lending, strengthen cross-border trade flows and close Tanzania’s persistent MSME financing gap.

$106M deal targets MSME financing gap

The €90 million ($106 million) package includes two €25 million ($29.39 million) portfolio guarantees supported by the European Union and a separate €40 million ($47.02 million) trade finance guarantee. The facilities are structured under the EFSD+ framework and designed to unlock lending in higher-risk, high-impact sectors.

The financing is expected to address Tanzania’s MSME funding gap, in which fewer than half of small businesses have access to formal credit, despite these businesses accounting for roughly half of national employment.

CRDB deepens Proparco strategic partnership

The agreement builds on a long-standing relationship between CRDB and Proparco, strengthening the Tanzanian lender’s position as a regional banking player with operations spanning Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

CRDB has increasingly shifted its strategy toward MSME lending as part of broader efforts to diversify its loan portfolio and support inclusive economic growth.

Trade finance program expands regional reach

Under the deal, CRDB will become the first East African bank to join Proparco’s Trade Finance Program as both an issuing and confirming bank. The €40 million guarantee will support import financing and cross-border trade transactions, enhancing liquidity for Tanzanian businesses engaging in regional commerce.

Executives highlight growth and inclusion goals

Group CEO Abdulmajid Mussa Nsekela said the facilities would significantly expand CRDB’s capacity to finance MSMEs, particularly enterprises led by women and young entrepreneurs.

He added that the partnership would strengthen trade flows, improve business resilience and support key sectors critical to Tanzania’s economic growth.

Development finance drives Africa MSME growth

The IMPACT+ program, backed by the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, is designed to unlock financing for small businesses across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The CRDB-Proparco deal underscores growing efforts by development finance institutions and regional banks to close Africa’s MSME funding gap—one of the continent’s biggest barriers to private-sector growth and job creation.