DBG, Proxtera partner to provide $100m in loans digitally to Ghanaian SMEs

Development Bank Ghana (DBG) and Singaporean FinTech firm, Proxtera, have partnered to provide Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the country loans worth some $100m.

This is per a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between DBG and Proxtera on Tuesday, May 14, on the sidelines of the 3i Africa Summit in Accra.

SMEs expected to benefit from the allocated loan amount by the DBG, are those operating in Ghana’s agriculture, manufacturing, information, communications and technology (ICT) and high-value sectors.

DBG through the Proxtera digital platform would provide beneficiary SMEs loans for growth and expansion.
For SMEs to qualify for the loan, it must be Ghanaian-owned and its financial plan deemed bankable.

Proxtera uses digital technology to help MSMEs gain trusted credentials for accessing loans. The digital platform ensuring digital inclusivity connects MSMEs with B2B marketplaces, financiers, payment providers, and other cross-border trade experts to save time and money.

According to the Managing Director of DBG, Kwamina Duker, DBG has come to the realization that a more digitized way of lending to businesses particularly SMEs has become necessary in this era.

Asserting that, while the Bank is able to check the credit portfolios and other necessary requirements for SMEs to get loans through its PFIs, the Proxtera digital platform would make the process easier and faster.

“This platform will allow the process to be much easier and faster, and as a result of that, the risk premium of the interest rate being applied to SMEs will over time decline.

“If today it takes about three to six months for an SME to get a loan with huge documentation, we can cut that down to a turnaround of a literally real time of 24 hours,” he quipped.

Speaking further at the signing of the MoU with Proxtera, Mr Duker averred DBG is serving as a catalyst to de-risk SMEs and the sectors in which they operate, for other banks to be able to lend to SMEs thereby creating business expansion opportunities for SMEs as well as jobs for the youth.

On his part, the CEO of Proxtera, Saurav Bhattacharyya, noted that through the platform SMEs will be evaluated quickly for disbursement of loans expressing confidence that the platform will help solve the challenge of credit access by most Ghanaian SMEs.