Access Bank, UN Agency to Unlock Finance for SMEs Across 14 African Countries

The International Trade Centre and Access Bank have launched a three-year partnership designed to improve access to finance, markets and business skills for small and medium-sized enterprises across 14 African countries.

The initiative, agreed through a memorandum of understanding signed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, will begin with a pilot programme in Ghana. Women-led businesses will receive priority during the first phase, scheduled to run from September 2026 to June 2027, according to a statement on Tuesday. 

The programme will cover Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

The partnership brings together the International Trade Centre’s technical expertise and digital learning resources with Access Bank’s extensive presence across African markets. It seeks to tackle the persistent barriers preventing small businesses from securing finance, reaching new customers and participating more fully in regional trade.

Although SMEs account for a substantial share of employment across Africa, many struggle to obtain the capital, skills and market connections required to grow. The partners said the initiative would address those challenges through an approach that combines financing with training and trade support.

Over the next three years, the programme will focus on five areas: job creation through SMEs; access to finance, particularly for women- and youth-owned businesses; business sustainability; capacity building, including digital trade skills; and access to local and regional markets.

It will also help participating businesses take advantage of opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to deepen economic integration and expand commerce among African countries.

The Ghana pilot will use the International Trade Centre’s existing digital learning platforms and training-of-trainers programmes, delivered in coordination with staff from the Access Africa Office—the coordinating office for Access Bank’s African subsidiaries.

From 2027, the partners plan to expand the initiative into additional countries and introduce advanced support covering sustainability standards and digital marketplace tools.

Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, described access to finance as the leading trade barrier confronting small businesses across the continent.

“We’re working with Access Bank to tackle this challenge and accompany the enterprises as we equip them with the knowledge, networks and market connections they need to grow,” she said.

Seyi Kumapayi, executive director for African subsidiaries at Access Bank, said capital alone was not enough to help small enterprises expand.

“It is the combination of capital, market access and trade-ready skills that makes the difference,” Kumapayi said. “Together, we are starting with women-led enterprises and small businesses in Ghana, with the ambition to scale intra-African trade and deepen financial inclusion across Africa.”

Access Bank has more than 700 branches across 25 countries on three continents and serves over 63 million customers.

The programme is also expected to support three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: gender equality; decent work and economic growth; and industry, innovation and infrastructure.