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Awash Bank, USAID to help small Agribusinesses in Ethiopia

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Awash Bank announced a new partnership of $6.4 million to finance microfinance institutions and small- and medium-sized agricultural businesses in Ethiopia.

Under a USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA) agreement, the program will expand commercial bank lending into underserved areas in Ethiopia. It will also provide private finance needed to help farmers and businesses increase production, as well as support Ethiopia’s efforts to modernize the agricultural sector.

Through private capital sources, local microfinance institutions are able to expand lending to individuals and small businesses, mostly smallholder farmers and Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) clients. This partnership will also support Awash Bank’s direct lending to SMEs in the agriculture sector, where access to credit remains low despite contributing 34 per cent of Ethiopia’s GDP and employing about 70 per cent of the total labour workforce.

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