The Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank) has approved a US$40mn commercial credit line for a development finance institution, bolstering support for long-term projects in West Africa.
The deal was signed between India Exim and the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) on August 14.
EBID will use the facility for long-term projects across the Community of West African States (Ecowas), and the deal is also expected to boost Indian exports to the region, an India Exim spokesperson tells GTR.
“The credit line will be utilised for an energy project in Sierra Leone as well as other projects covering imports from India, supported by EBID,” they add.
In a statement, EBID president, George Agyekum Donkor, says there is a “need to expand investments in key sectors such as energy, health, transportation, agriculture and infrastructure, among others, to drive economic growth in West Africa while building resilience in an increasingly volatile global setting”.
EBID is owned by the 15 Ecowas countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
It helps finance development projects through short, medium and long-term loans, equity participation, lines of credit, refinancing and other financial services.
Since first partnering with EBID in 2006, India Exim has provided over US$1.1bn to the development bank for use in several sectors, including healthcare, electrification and infrastructure.
