The African Development Bank (AfDB) will boost the private sector in the DRC by providing a USD15 million credit line to Rawbank.
This loan marks the Bank’s first collaboration with RAWBANK, and aims to support SMEs and support projects in key sectors of the Congolese economy and the creation of thousands of jobs.
“The African Development Bank gives a strong signal with this line of credit that will boost the Congolese private sector, targeting in particular women entrepreneurs,” said RAWBANK CEO Thierry Taeymans.
The funding will also help hundreds of Congolese entrepreneurs creating SMEs targeting women entrepreneurs in particular.
This injection will also allow RAWBANK to improve its long-term liquidity, diversify its funding base, strengthen its balance sheet and support the growth of its business portfolio.
Signing on behalf of RAWBANK, Taeymans welcomed the confidence the African Development Bank has shown in its institution. And to add that this first operation will accelerate “our development at the service of our customers”.
Donatien Kouassi, Acting Country Manager of the African Development Bank in the DRC, stressed the importance of this partnership with Rawbank, which he said will “stimulate our support for SMEs, and in turn, to intervene vigorously in the private sector. “
RAWBANK has been named Best Bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the fourth year in a row, by Global Finance, the prestigious New York-based US magazine specializing in financial reporting.
RAWBANK was the first to exceed 1 billion dollars in balance sheet total in 2015.
Created in 2002 by the Rawji group, the bank has more than 1,600 employees with close to 100 points of sale and a representative office in Brussels, 300,000 customers and 25 per cent market share in the DRC.
RAWBANK is rated by Moody’s (B3), ISO / IEC 20000 and ISO / IEC 27001 certified, and has established financing partnerships with several international partners like Proparco, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Shelter Afrique among others.
The bank is a key financial player in the DRC for individuals, SMIs / SMEs, large companies and international institutions.
RAWBANK inaugurated its new headquarters in Kinshasa on December 5, 2018.
Called the Atrium, the modern eight-storey building offers a professional setting, meeting the ambitions of the bank and its customers.
The new headquarters was previously located on the Boulevard du 30 Juin No. 3487 but now the head office is now in the heart of the administrative district of the commune of Gombe in Kinshasa.
Taeymans said the bank started with 30 agents at its debut to 3,000 employees to date and boasting a total balance sheet of more than 1.7 billion US dollars.
“This remarkable momentum within RAWBANK is well established. For more than 16 years, the bank has made a significant contribution to the Congolese economy and has had a positive impact on the Congolese entrepreneurial life, “said the Governor of the Central Bank of Congo, Déogratias Mutombo Mwana Nyembo.
Private sector driving sustainable growth and development
AfDB is leveraging the private sector to drive growth in Africa and the Bank has also made the private sector development one of its priorities for reducing poverty and sustaining growth on the continent.
The Bank says that the private sector development is the engine of sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This finding is unanimous among major financial and international development institutions.
Implementing the Bank’s vision of the deployment of this sector combines several areas like improving the business environment; supporting private businesses; strengthening financial institutions and systems; promoting regional integration and trade; and creating leverage to attract funding from other donors.
The Bank is investing heavily to stimulate private sector growth in Africa.
To this end, it has a range of financial instruments, from different risk categories, ranging from senior secured debt to direct equity participation, to instruments that are almost equivalent to equity.
When the Bank holds direct equity stakes in financial institutions, the majority of its equity investments are through private equity funds.
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