Small businesses in Africa to receive EU investment

The technical assistance programme, to be implemented by the International Finance Corporation, will support local banks in Africa and the European Neighbourhood in developing financial services which will benefit sectors currently experiencing a lack of financing, such as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), young entrepreneurs and women in business; particularly in countries with low income or fragile economies and those affected by conflict. It will deploy investment to sectors in emerging markets, such as agriculture, education and healthcare, which are considered to have a strong relative socioeconomic impact.