DEG has provided a $30m long-term loan to First National Bank Ghana, a commercial bank in Ghana.

“With our commitment in Ghana, we are strengthening the real estate sector for private households. We also support SMEs, which are important employers and the driving force behind the private sector, especially in the current situation. This sends out a clear signal of our confidence in Ghana’s economic development”, said Petra Kotte, Head of division Financial Institutions and German Business at DEG.

Additional funds are being supplied by other European development finance institutions: Finnfund (Finland), Proparco (France) and Norfund (Norway).

This brings the total volume of finance syndicated by DEG to $85m, which has now been disbursed.

First National Bank Ghana was founded in 2015 with a strong digital banking focus and has been developing successfully ever since.

In five years, it has become an established player in its market, with 500 employees and an extended presence across Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western Regions.

Having recently acquired and integrated GHL Bank, this funding will assist First National Bank Ghana’s strategy to grow this important asset portfolio.

Dominic Adu, CEO of First National Bank Ghana emphasized: “The world at large is still dealing with the impact of the pandemic. We cannot downplay the importance of scaling up financial support that will help minimize the impact of the pandemic, particularly on SMEs.”

“That is why we will capitalize on funding from institutions like DEG to engineer the expansion of real estate developments and ensure the sustainability of the private sector in Ghana.”

First National Bank Ghana is part of the broader FNB franchise.

FNB is one of South Africa’s leading retail and commercial banks.

DEG has partnered with FNB’s parent, FirstRand since 2002.

In 2019, it provided FirstRand with a long-term loan of $50m, its largest financing project in Africa to date.