Standard Chartered and BII launch a $100M facility for Kenya and Tanzania, boosting trade, SMEs, and gender-inclusive finance under the 2X Challenge framework.
🌍 Boosting Trade Finance in Kenya and Tanzania
On May 22, 2025, Standard Chartered Bank and British International Investment (BII) launched a $100 million risk participation facility to expand access to working capital in Kenya and Tanzania.
This strategic collaboration aims to support:
- Agriculture
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing
- Infrastructure
- Food production
It comes amid post-COVID-19 recovery, climate shocks, and global trade disruptions, positioning East Africa as a key beneficiary of resilient financial flows.
🔗 Related: East Africa’s Economic Outlook 2025
🔒 How the Risk Participation Model Works
Structured as a risk-sharing agreement, BII will take on a portion of Standard Chartered’s exposure to enhance lending capacity—without overextending the bank’s balance sheet.
“It’s about sustainable growth and financial inclusion,”
— Patrick Makau, Executive Principal, Trade & Working Capital, Standard Chartered
This model allows lending to SMEs and businesses operating in fragile environments where traditional credit channels are limited.
🔗 Learn about Trade Risk Participation Mechanisms
💵 Projected Impact: $450M+ in Trade Flows
Although the direct facility is $100 million, the anticipated trade transaction impact is expected to exceed $450 million, creating a 4.5x multiplier effect.
“This builds on a 12-year partnership that’s already facilitated over $10 billion in trade,”
— Freddie Tucker, Investment Director, BII
In 2024 alone, existing programs backed $450 million in trade across 10 countries—a success both parties aim to replicate continent-wide.
👩🏽 Gender-Inclusive Finance: The 2X Challenge
This initiative aligns with the 2X Challenge, a G7-backed platform launched in 2018 to drive capital into women-empowering enterprises. Under this framework, BII will assume a higher portion of risk for businesses that meet gender-lens criteria.
Qualifying businesses include:
- Women-led enterprises
- Women-owned firms
- Companies with inclusive workforces
“This is about catalyzing change,” said Makau.
“Africa’s exports may hit $1 trillion by 2035—this growth must be inclusive.”
🔗 Read more: How Gender Finance is Shaping African Trade
🚀 Kenya & Tanzania: First Stops, But Not the Last
Though the initial focus is East Africa, both partners view this as a scalable model. If successful, similar facilities could be introduced in West, Central, or Southern Africa.
“We’re counter-cyclical investors,” said Tucker.
“Our role is to keep capital flowing when others hesitate.”
This echoes broader trends in development finance, where collaboration between DFIs, fintechs, insurers, and multinationals is redefining Africa’s trade ecosystem.
🤝 Inclusive Trade, Powered by Partnerships
SMEs remain the backbone of African economies, and this facility aims to address:
- Trade finance gaps
- Liquidity shortages
- Gender equity barriers
“We must power inclusive trade—one SME, one sector at a time,”
— Patrick Makau, Standard Chartered
🔗 Explore: Bridging Africa’s $81B Trade Finance Gap
📌 Tags (for SEO & Discovery)
Standard Chartered, British International Investment, Kenya, Tanzania, 2X Challenge, Trade Finance, Patrick Makau, Freddie Tucker, Women Empowerment, SMEs, Development Finance, Inclusive Growth, East Africa, DFI Partnerships
