(Ecofin Agency) - Proparco has strengthened its support for Cameroon’s commercial bank, Afriland First Bank, by finalizing a second partnership agreement.

Announced on July 10, this €20 million ($21.6 million) guarantee agreement will enable Cameroon’s leading bank in terms of loans and deposits (as of the end of 2023) to enhance its international trade financing capabilities. Import companies that are clients of the bank will benefit from new financing sources for their operations.

"We are pleased to support Afriland Cameroon through this guarantee, which will facilitate the financing of essential imports in a context of inflation," said Emmanuel Haye, Head of Africa for Proparco's Financial Institutions and Inclusion Division.

In 2022, the two institutions concluded an initial €15 million guarantee agreement. This aimed to enable the Cameroonian commercial bank to issue trade finance instruments to support its clients' imports.