By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
Ecobank senior officials on Wednesday 6th November 2024 joined other private sectors in the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA), British International Investment (BII) networking event at the British High Commission on Hill Station in Freetown.
The event attracted hundreds of business moguls including the Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh said that over the last two years, they have had over four visits from ARIA, stating that, they have brought up to 80 investors to the country.
‘BII has an exposure in Sierra Leone to the tune of 100 million dollars. That’s to you the private sector. And the good news as I have been told through several engagements that they wanted to do more and that’s why they are here,’’ he said.
He is happy with the signing agreement with top businesses like JOLAX and Ecobank, whilst thanking them for closing on those deals, adding that, it shows that the government is committed in providing the right ecosystem for investment in the country.
‘’ Now, the government has been expanding BFI Investments in Sierra Leone over the last couple of years, and our exposure from our partner is over $1 billion,’’ Sengeh added.
It could be recalled that the British International Investment and Ecobank Sierra Leone on October signed a $25 million risk sharing agreement to boost private sector growth in the country.
According to the release, the $25 million risk sharing agreement, will increase lending to businesses in Sierra Leone where access to finance is limited, support local currency lending and provide longer-term loans which are generally unavailable.
‘’It demonstrates BII’s ability to act as a first mover in frontier markets, navigating risk and working with partners to create impact,’’ the joint release said.
According to the release, the agreement is the first investment under the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA) which was created by BII.
The announcement builds on a $50 million trade finance facility between BII and Ecobank in 2021, which helped the bank to deepen its reach across Africa and support supply chains in frontier markets such as Burkina Faso, Chad and Togo.
UK Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds said: “I am delighted to see BII announce this new risk sharing facility with Ecobank Sierra Leone. This agreement will support local currency lending, bringing much-needed capital into sectors with a high development impact, thereby contributing to job creation and economic growth. This is yet another example of BII innovating to address risks and enable development in frontier markets.”
Samir Abhyankar, MD and Head of Financial Services, BII, commented: “The signing of this agreement with Ecobank Sierra Leone underscores BII’s pioneering role to lead investments in countries that are often overlooked by investors. The facility will be a game-changer for Sierra Leone, providing much-needed capital for ambitious local businesses to accelerate their growth, spur job creation and deepen impact. It’s an example of BII innovating and working with partners to help address pressing challenges where it matters the most.”
Sebastian Ashong-Katai, Managing Director, Ecobank Sierra Leone, said: “We are delighted to have secured the support of British International Investment in boosting Ecobank’s vital lending capacity for Sierra Leone businesses who are the engine room for our country’s growth, economic development and employment. This further strengthens our intent to be the bank of choice for Sierra Leone’s businesses and leverages our delivery of world class products, services, solutions, borderless digital pan-African platform and business skills training which are designed to support them in further growing their businesses.”
Alex Kucharski, BII’s Head of West Africa for ARIA, added: “ARIA aims to unlock investment in Sierra Leone, a market full of potential. We are delighted to have enabled the investment by British International Investment into Ecobank Sierra Leone, which will bring much needed growth capital to underserved businesses in the country, showing that more investment is possible.”
