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Proparco and the European Union (EU) have agreed to a $10 million portfolio guarantee for Ecobank DRC, the Democratic Republic of the Congo arm of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). The deal was announced at the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) in Luanda on 3 to 4 November 2026.
The guarantee is meant to help Ecobank DRC lend more to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). It focuses on businesses owned by women and young entrepreneurs, and on the education, health and agriculture sectors.
“This portfolio guarantee marks a new milestone in the long-standing partnership of trust between the Ecobank Group and Proparco in support of African private sector development. Thanks to this risk-sharing mechanism, we will be able to support more entrepreneurs, particularly women and young people, as well as key sectors such as agriculture, health and education,” said Moukaramou Chanou, Managing Director of Ecobank International, representing Ecobank DRC.
ETI operates in 34 African countries, including the DRC through Ecobank DRC. Proparco and the group have worked together on several financing, trade finance and portfolio guarantee deals across the continent.
Impact+ is run by Proparco under the EU’s EFSD+ instrument. It helps channel new financing to small and growing businesses in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, especially those that struggle to get credit. It is part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
ETI and Proparco signed the agreement after a panel discussion on “Risk Sharing in Practice: What It Takes to Finance More African SMEs,” which Proparco organised at the summit. It is the first Impact+ guarantee Proparco has signed with the banking group.
That means the guarantee is meant to ease one of the main barriers to MSME lending, which is the lack of collateral. It should help entrepreneurs with strong growth potential but few assets get the financing they need.
The deal falls under the Impact+ programme, which Proparco runs with the European Union to widen access to finance for MSMEs in Africa.
Ecobank said it is the first result of closer cooperation between the two institutions. It also marks the start of a wider programme to expand lending to SMEs, agribusinesses and women-led businesses across Ecobank’s African network.
“We are delighted to embark on this collaboration with Ecobank DRC, a member of the Ecobank Group, a long-standing partner of Proparco in Africa. This partnership reflects our shared ambition to increase financing for MSMEs and channel more resources toward women and young entrepreneurs, as well as underserved sectors with a strong development impact. This financing benefits from the support of the European Union and demonstrates the strong commitment of the European Commission and France to financial inclusion,” said Emmanuel Haye, Director of the Financial Institutions Department at Proparco.
Proparco will set up two portfolio guarantees in the DRC, worth $10 million in total. The first backs the growth of Ecobank DRC’s MSME lending portfolio. The second targets businesses led by women and young people, startups, and the agriculture, health, education and green sectors.
