Through the partnership, the two entities will provide small businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt with an online platform, powered by SAVA’s Payment Transaction System, that includes digital bank accounts and accounting integration tools.

IFC announced an investment for the National Bank of Iraq to support the growth of smaller businesses in Iraq and help them create jobs and overcome challenges, including from COVID-19-related disruptions.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) extended a $50 million line of credit to Bank of Palestine to support the resilience of the Palestinian private sector through on-lending to local SMEs, as part of Team Europe’s overall response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The financing is part of a program that supports policy measures to enable the rollout of the country’s social protection program, including the creation of digital IDs and cashless payments as part of cash transfer programs.

With an investment of $5 million, the SANAD ESF II contributed to the $36 million first close of the Badia Impact Fund Squared, which targets early-stage, innovative SMEs in need of equity funding to scale up operations.

This was a top-up loan of $4 million to support microfinance sector during challenging environment brought about by COVID-19 crisis.