The International Trade Centre (ITC) and Access Bank have partnered to expand access to finance, markets, and skills training for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across 14 African countries.
The partnership, formalised through a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, will initially begin with a pilot programme in Ghana before expanding to other markets.
The countries targeted under the initiative are Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.
The three-year partnership will focus on five priority areas: job creation through SMEs, access to finance, SME sustainability, capacity building, and access to markets.
Particular attention will be given to women- and youth-owned businesses, with the partners seeking to address persistent financing and market-access challenges faced by small businesses across Africa.
The pilot phase will run from September 2026 to June 2027 and will focus on a cohort of small businesses in Ghana, with women-led enterprises prioritised.
The programme will draw on ITC’s digital learning tools and training-of-trainers programmes, delivered in coordination with Access Africa Office staff.
From 2027, the partnership is expected to expand to additional countries and programmes, including advanced training on sustainability standards and digital marketplace tools.
The initiative will also support intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), helping businesses develop the skills, networks and market connections needed to access opportunities across the continent.
Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, said access to finance remains a major barrier to trade for small businesses across Africa.
“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, African Subsidiaries at Access Bank, said finance alone was not sufficient to enable small businesses to scale.
He said the partnership combines Access Bank’s reach across African markets with ITC’s expertise in knowledge, networks and market connections, beginning with women-led enterprises and small businesses in Ghana.
The partnership is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality, decent work and economic growth, and industry, innovation, and infrastructure.
Access Bank operates across Africa through more than 700 branches in 25 countries across three continents and serves more than 63 million customers.