Ecobank Group, one of Africa’s largest financial institutions, has received a $12 million trade finance guarantee from Proparco to support small businesses and strengthen food security in Chad and other African countries.
The deal, which highlights the growing influence of Cameroonian banker and investor Alain Nkontchou, underscores the increasing role of private sector financing in addressing Africa’s food and trade challenges.
Boosting Trade and Food Security
The partnership, signed during the Africa Financial Summit 2025, falls under the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) initiative launched by France, the European Union, the G7 and the African Union. The facility will enable Ecobank Chad to provide easier access to funding for local businesses importing key raw materials that are either scarce or too expensive to source locally.
For many small traders and manufacturers in Chad, this means greater access to imported goods such as fertilisers, grains and equipment, essential for sustaining production and keeping food prices stable. With inflation still squeezing household incomes across Africa, measures that improve access to raw materials can help moderate the cost of basic goods and reduce the burden on ordinary families.
Ecobank Group CEO Jeremy Awori said the new partnership represents more than a simple financing arrangement. “By facilitating access to essential raw materials, we are supporting local industrialisation, food security and value creation on the continent,” he said.
The agreement also falls within the AFD Group’s broader “Choose Africa” programme, which helps SMEs, start-ups and microenterprises with financing and capacity-building support.
Alain Nkontchou Expands His Stake in Ecobank
Beyond the Proparco deal, Ecobank’s ownership structure is undergoing an important shift. Alain Nkontchou, the Cameroonian banker who serves as Ecobank’s chairman, is preparing to significantly increase his influence within the group.
In August, Nkontchou reached an agreement to purchase South Africa’s Nedbank Group’s 21.2 percent stake in Ecobank for around $100 million through his investment firm, Bosquet Investments. Once approved by regulators, the transaction will raise Nkontchou’s total holding to 24.03 percent, making him one of the largest individual shareholders in Ecobank’s history.
The deal will also end Nedbank’s 17-year partnership with Ecobank, marking a shift towards a more African-led ownership structure.
Analysts say the move could give Nkontchou stronger control over Ecobank’s strategic direction, particularly in consolidating its presence in high-growth markets and strengthening its lending to the small business sector, a vital engine of job creation across the continent.
