Page 36 - ICD AR21 EN

3.5 REINFORCING
CAMEROONIAN SMEs
In 2021, ICD extended a new line of finance (LOF) facility of EUR 20 million (USD 22.8 million) to Afriland First Bank (AFB) in Cameroon under ICD’s dedicated USD 200 million COVID-19 Line of Finance Support Package. Prior to this new facility, AFB had benefited from two of ICD’s LOF facilities with an aggregate amount of EUR 28 million, including a EUR 15 million LOF extended in 2016 (fully settled), and a
EUR 13 million LOF extended in 2018 which
is expected to be fully settled by May 2024.
ICD’s new facility is part of a EUR 40 million syndicated Shar’iah compliant LOF facility arranged by ICD. The remaining balance of EUR 20 million has been syndicated from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). This project is ICD’s first syndicated line of finance facility with BADEA and it also marks BADEA’s first Shari’ah compliant line of finance facility, which falls in line with BADEA’s drive to promote Islamic finance in the region. As per the arrangement, BADEA has appointed ICD as its Investment Agent to deploy its portion of the LOF.
The syndicated facility will be directed to private
sector projects with strong developmental impact
in the agriculture sector, which is the largest source
of employment in Cameroon. The objective is to effectively mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the country’s agriculture sector especially in supporting the country’s efforts towards achieving food security, in addition to creating and preserving jobs. In addition to the promotion of further awareness on Islamic finance, the strong pipeline of projects to be financed would
ICD's LOF facility will
mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on Cameroon's agriculture sector especially in supporting the country’s efforts towards achieving food security.
34 ICD ANNUAL REPORT 2021
enable ICD to contribute largely to SDG #1: No poverty; SDG #2: Zero Hunger, SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; and SDG #17: Partnerships for the Goals.
Cameroon is the largest middle-income country
in Central Africa and is one of the most diversified economies of the six-state Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). Currently, Cameroon contributes 45% of CEMAC’s nominal
GDP and has vibrant forestry, agriculture, oil, and mining sectors. The Cameroonian banking system comprises 15 banks, including AFB. Founded in 1987, AFB has successfully cemented its leadership position in the Cameroonian banking industry. It is the only bank in the country with an Islamic window, which was established with ICD’s support.