The Development Bank Ghana (DBG) and Proxtera, a Singaporean financial technology (fintech) company, signed a partnership agreement here late Tuesday to boost financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
According to the agreement signed during the ongoing 3i Africa Summit, Proxtera would provide the appropriate digital platform to help DBG access accurate data on businesses seeking financing to inform its financing decisions.
“The Proxtera platform will propel us from the traditional methods of disbursing financing to a new digital means. This approach will reduce the loan processing period drastically,” Kwamena Duker, Chief Executive Officer of DBG, told the media after signing the agreement.
Under the partnership, Duker said DBG would disburse 100 million U.S. dollars in loans to SMEs, adding that the bank would finance any business found to be bankable and marketable.
Sepnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore and co-owner of Proxtera, said the use of data-driven assessments to disburse credit to small businesses would make critical aid reach deserving businesses that are really in need of credit.
“The partnership will build the foundation on which small businesses will be able to access credit—more loans, quicker credit, and better outcomes,” Mohanty said.
The government of Ghana established DBG in June 2022 with a mandate to provide long-term financing and digital-based derisking services. As its core business, DBG alleviates financing constraints faced by micro, medium, and small enterprises and small corporations in business, manufacturing, and high-value services through the provision of wholesale financing and partial credit guarantees to eligible businesses.