Swedfund and FMO gives NMB Bank $15 million line of credit

The Development finance institutions Swedfund of Sweden and FMO of the Netherlands have agreed to provide NMB Bank with a line of credit for lending to exporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zimbabwe.

Together with FMO, who has been supporting NMB for the past five years, Swedfund is setting up a four-year line of credit. The syndicated loan was signed in 2016, and the first tranche is now disbursed. It is intended to enable NMB Bank to provide much needed support to Zimbabwe’s SME sector.

“Our investment will support NMB in its important work to target SMEs, with special focus on businesses that are exporting goods and services. It is all about job creation and inclusive growth where the SMEs will be crucial for coming development steps in Zimbabwe”, Gerth Svensson, CEO of Swedfund, said.

“We are excited about this development. It will certainly go a long way in supporting economic growth in the country. SMEs are the backbone of the Zimbabwe economy and NMB have been aggressive in sourcing cheaper and long-term finance to support this critical sector of the economy”, Gerald Gore, Chief Operating Officer at NMB, said.