The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank approved, on December 1st in Abidjan, a €25 million facility intended to expand CCA-Bank’s capacity to finance Cameroonian small and medium-sized enterprises. The African Development Bank Group announced on December 2, 2025, the approval of a €25 million trade finance facility – approximately 16.3 billion CFA francs – for CCA-Bank. The decision, made during a Board of Directors meeting held the previous day in Abidjan, concerns the provision of a Transaction Guarantee , an instrument designed to cover the risks of trade finance operations carried out by eligible African banks.
In the press release published from Abidjan, the Bank explains that this facility will support imports of equipment intended for the industrial, agro-industrial and telecommunications sectors.
Lamin Drammeh, Head of the Trade Finance Division of the Bank Group, specifies that the guarantee will be able to cover “up to 100%” of the operations concerned by the confirming banks, in order to facilitate the confirmation of letters of credit and similar instruments issued by CCA-Bank for the benefit of Cameroonian SMEs.
Léandre Bassolé, Director General for the Central Africa region, indicates that this operation is part of the institution’s desire to increase its direct interventions in support of the private sector in Cameroon.
“It will strengthen CCA-Bank’s capacity to support the activities of SMEs, including those owned by women and young people, in order to boost the local productive sector, facilitate economic growth and create and maintain thousands of jobs,” he said.
Marguerite Fonkwen Atanga, CEO of CCA-Bank, welcomes this first direct financial support from the African Development Bank Group. “We wish to express our gratitude to the African Development Bank Group for this important trade finance facility.
This strategic partnership marks a major milestone for our institution and will significantly strengthen our ability to support small and medium-sized enterprises, women entrepreneurs and start-ups in Cameroon and Africa,” she said.
The African Development Bank notes that its Transaction Guarantee , launched in 2021, covers several types of trade finance instruments, including confirmed letters of credit, irrevocable payment commitments, endorsed drafts, and promissory notes. The tool is available to banks registered and operating in Africa, following a due diligence process.
In addition to this AfDB financing, CCA-Bank secured two other international grants earlier this year to support SMEs. On April 24, 2025, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, made available €15 million, or approximately 9.8 billion CFA francs, to improve access to credit in high-potential sectors such as agribusiness, transportation, and healthcare.
Then, on May 21, 2025, on the sidelines of the IDB Group Annual Meetings in Algiers, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation announced a new facility of 10 million euros, approximately 6.5 billion FCFA, again in favor of CCA-Bank.
