African Development Bank Backs Zambian Small Businesses With $20 Million Trade Finance Guarantee

The African Development Bank has approved a $20 million Trade Finance Transaction Guarantee for Access Bank Zambia, a move set to unlock major new opportunities for small and medium enterprises across the country.

It is the first deal between the AfDB and Access Bank Zambia, and forms part of the bank's wider Trade Finance Program, which has supported over $13.8 billion in trade volumes across 129 financial institutions since 2013.

The new facility is expected to back up to $240 million in trade volumes over five years, opening doors for Zambian businesses that have long struggled to compete in regional and international markets.

Small and medium enterprises drive 70% of Zambia's GDP and provide 88% of employment, yet face a chronic shortage of affordable trade finance. Without confirmed letters of credit, they cannot import essential inputs or unlock working capital tied up in foreign collateral. The AfDB estimates Africa's annual trade finance gap at $100 to $120 billion, with SMEs hit hardest.

AfDB Country Manager for Zambia, Raubil Olaniyi Durowoju, said the guarantee was about real economic impact. "It is what allows a smallholder farmer to import certified seed, or a local manufacturer to source components and export finished goods," he said. "That translates directly into jobs, incomes, and economic resilience."

The facility provides up to 100% risk cover to international confirming banks on instruments issued by Access Bank Zambia, lifting the collateral drag that has held the market back.

It carries a strong gender dimension too. Women in Zambia are concentrated in subsistence farming, informal trade, and agriculture value chains, precisely where the finance gaps bite deepest. A potential technical assistance facility from the AfDB's AFAWA initiative will help embed a gender lens in lending and dedicate part of the trade book to women-led enterprises.

Access Bank Zambia Managing Director Iheanyi Nwogu called the AAA-rated guarantee "instrumental" to accelerating growth and deepening Zambia's trade flows.

For Zambia's farmers, manufacturers and exporters, the message is simple. The harvest is ready, and the doors to global trade are opening wider.