(Business in Cameroon) - Nigerian banking group United Bank for Africa (UBA) has unveiled a CFA16 billion credit line to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Cameroon.

This initiative, announced on April 26 in Douala by UBA Cameroon's executives, will focus on key sectors such as agri-food, automotive, pharmaceutical, transportation, and logistics. The credit line, tailored to enhance intra-African trade, offers a maximum limit of CFA16 billion per year, with flexibility for companies to exceed this amount through timely repayments and new fund requests.

Jean-Paul Tchoungui, UBA Cameroon's credit director, highlighted that this funding opportunity will be active from 2024 to 2026, with plans for potential increases to meet growing client demands in the coming years. SMEs eligible for this financing must be UBA clients engaged in intra-African trade, selling their products across the continent.

The credit will support working capital requirements and equipment purchases, with repayment terms typically set at 12 months for working capital and up to four years for equipment acquisition loans. Specifics on guarantees and interest rates will be negotiated individually with each SME.

UBA's overarching objective is to ease SMEs' access to funding and markets, fostering their expansion and enhancing their role in Africa's socio-economic progress. The bank's commitment to supporting SMEs is further evidenced by a $6 billion investment pledge over three years, following an agreement with the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on June 19, 2023.

UBA Cameroon's credit director highlighted that Cameroon benefits from the largest share of this investment among the 20 countries covered by the initiative. Alongside this major initiative, other financing programs specific to Cameroonian SMEs have also been established, with SMEs benefiting from loans amounting to CFA37 billion FCFA from UBA in 2023.