The move is expected to boost digital payment acceptance at small and micro enterprises in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and other key markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The plan is to increase financial inclusion in rural areas from the current 50 percent to 75 percent.

The local currency-denominated senior non-preferred sustainability bonds will help the bank increase its lending to businesses investing in climate-smart initiatives—green buildings, renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, sustainable agriculture, and others.

The pan-African financial institution will use the funds to finance the green transition through sustainable infrastructure in Africa.

According to the release, the partnership was inked at the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, and is among the first to involve an African fintech company.

This is the first step in the organizations' joint effort to expand and strengthen the low-income housing finance sector in Tanzania. 

Through its subsidiaries, Baobab provides financial services to half a million microentrepreneurs and small businesses, thus allowing access to financing to people who are not currently supported by traditional banks.

Nigeria is looking to real-time payments to help drive economic growth and financial inclusion as its volume of real-time transactions surged year-on-year by 94.7 percent to 3.7 billion in 2021.

The bouquet of financing will enable CRDB to significantly impact the socio-economic growth of the region by empowering small businesses, especially women, and unleashing their full potential.

The loan is expected to support at least 4,000 new SME loans in Nigeria.