#COVID19: European Investment Bank Opens $14 Million Credit Line To Help Cameroonian Businesses
The announcement was made during the European Union-African economic forum which opened in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 17, alongside the European Union-Africa summit.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced the opening of a credit line of 7.8 billion FCFA (about 14 million US dollars or 12 million euros) in the Commercial Bank of Cameroon (CBC) “to support the resilience of Cameroonian enterprises in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The announcement was made during the European Union-African economic forum which opened in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 17, alongside the European Union-Africa summit.
According to the EIB representative in Cameroon, the convention to formalise the credit line would be signed during the forthcoming visit of the EIB Vice President to Cameroon.
“Thanks to the 12 million euros made available by the EIB and the European Union, the CBC would be able to accord new loans to the private sector through the intermediary of its branches throughout the national territory,” said Leandre Djummo, Director General of CBC.
“Thanks to the close cooperation between the financial experts of the CBC and the EIB during the past months, Cameroonian enterprises can have access to more long-term credits which are essential to their growth during this period of crises.”
Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the EIB added that “These finances are essential to the stimulation of investments, create jobs and accelerate the relaunching of the economy after the pandemic.
“The new accord concluded today is an illustration of the alliance entered into between the European team and African partners to defeat the Covid-19 and assist the enterprises to create jobs and prosper.”
According to the EIB, the partnership with the CBC follows the rapid response given by the international bank in Africa to reinforce its economic resilience in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
It will also principally permit the support of enterprises to invest in the manufacturing, agricultural, touristic, and commercial sectors.
This is the second initiative taken by the EIB in Cameroon to permit enterprises to resist or meet with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Nov. 17, 2020, the EIB opened a credit line of 10 billion FCFA (about 5 million US dollars) in the Societe Generale Cameroun in order to permit small and medium size enterprises to obtain soft loans at a time when the health crises linked to the coronavirus was at its peak in the world.
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