CCA Bank gets 10 billion FCFA to boost SMEs financing, job creation.

 An agreement to this effect was signed Friday June 30 in Yaounde. IFC Representative for the Central African Sub-region, Sylvain Kakou, signed for the international institution while Marguerite Fonkwen Atanga, Executive Director of CCA Bank, signed for the commercial bank.

 In addition to the 10 billion FCFA, the financing agreement also opens a five million US dollar international credit line to ease transactions for CCA Bank’s clients. This, officials said, would make importation easy for SMEs and other multinationals that bank with CCA.

 According to the Executive Director of CCA Bank, Fonkwen Atanga, the money will facilitate the sustainable financing of SMEs and support foreign trade operations. Through the “Women Banking Program”, of CCA Bank, Fonkwen said, at least 25 percent of the resources will be directed to SMEs run by women.

 She stated that through the partnership signed with IFC, CCA Bank is repositioning itself as a financial institution of choice to the public, especially women. Fonkwen added that CCA Bank is unlocking and reaching unserved women who have for years been out of mainstream financial systems.

While underscoring the need for vibrant SMEs, given that they are the mainstay of the economy, Fonkwen said giving women-led enterprises and enterpreneurs special attention is the best way to attain growth and boost job creation.

Given CCA Bank’s national presence, the Executive Director said, they are bent on opening up new avenues for wealth creation and improving the lot of citizens. The quest for such exploits, she said, justifies the recent agreement reached with IFC.

Confident of what CCA Bank is set to achieve through the financing of SMEs, enhancing global trade and bolstering women enterpreneurs, Fonkwen said the bank has a pact with growth and development.

Why CCA Bank has a special place for women 

On the unique interest in female entrepreneurship, Fonkwen projected statistics from the United Nations, UN, which indicate that of Cameroon’s estimated 28.6 million people this year, 51.8 percent (14.8 million) are women. 

68% of these women, she further said, are within the age bracket of 15 and 60. Fonkwen described such as a productive human resource that needs to be strenghtened to boost development.

Going by Fonkwen, CCA Bank through the initiative “aims to address these shortcomings, by educating, empowering and financing women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs, in order to unlock their true potential and, of course, stimulate development”.

The CCA Bank, she said, is sure of its leadership position in the banking sector in Cameroon and will continue to work to maintain the leadership position. She announced adjustments in the bank’s policies and practices to further enhance growth.

Key financier of government projects

In terms of supporting the State, Fonkwen said, CCA has been “present in the financing of government’s structural projects, while vigorously deploying our services to multinationals and large national companies”. 

She also underscored that the CCA Bank is “also expanding into important segments that have hitherto been poorly served, under-served or not served at all, like women's entrepreneurship with the “Women Banking Programme".

Enter IFC Country Manager

Speaking to pressmen after signing of the agreement, IFC Country Manager, Sylvain Kakou, not only hailed the move but qualified it as a milestone, especially given that it targets uplifting the financial strength of women in business. 

He said the choice of CCA Bank was motivated by the financial institution’s almost-free interest rates on loans. He assured that the IFC is readily available to work hand-in-hand with CCA Bank for the realisation of the initiative as contained in the partnership package.