Sh250bn boost for small and medium businesses

Dar es Salaam. CRDB Bank has signed a $120 million (about Sh250 billion) loan agreement with the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

The bank said in a statement yesterday that the loan agreement, signed in Nairobi on Thursday, would be spent on developing infrastructure and small and medium entreprises (SME) financing in Tanzania. According to the statement, part of it will  supporting the government’s industrialisation agenda.

The CRDB Bank managing director, Dr Charles Kimei, said in a statement yesterday that the loan had come at an opportune time and would inject the much needed capital to reinvigorate the Tanzanian economy.

“We are happy to receive this loan at this time and we believe this will excite our economy. It is encouraging to note that CRDB Bank is increasingly being trusted by multinational institutions such as the AfDB,” said Dr Kimei.

He noted that the loan facility presents a unique opportunity for Tanzanian entrepreneurs and industrialists to benefit from long-term loans to grow their business.

“We have been receiving a huge number of loan applications but most of them have not been honoured due to scarcity of funds that can be availed for long term lending.  But today, we are happy to announce that all requests will now be honoured since we have the funds,” he explained.

Dr Kimei mentioned that the Bank would consider supporting the Dangote electricity generating project, Ilala Municipality’s Metropolitan Development Project and many more.

Speaking in Nairobi during the signing ceremony, the AfDB director general for Eastern Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office (RDBDO), Mr Gabriel Negatu, said poor infrastructure had been a major constraint for the region’s growth.

Mr Negatu said, the facility was also be spent on onward lending to small enterprises and women who have in the past been excluded from formal financial services.