European Investment Bank (EIB) has said in Freetown through its regional representative in West Africa Christopher Lucet that the bank has made available to Ecobank the sum of 50million Euros from which USD 2.9 million is slated for Ecobank Sierra Leone aimed at easing capital acquisition for SMEs in the Country.
“The role of EIB is to support the development of the productive sector with financial instruments, with the objective of promoting economic growth and reducing poverty” Christopher Lucet told journalists in Freetown.
The European Investment bank has invested 1.3 billion Euros in direct project financing in West Africa since the signing of the Cotonou Agreement. EIB has also directed more than 300 million Euros at private equity funds in Africa, with 120 million Euros invested in micro finance.
The bank also plans to be active in Sierra Leone’s energy sector through the West Africa Power Project (WAPP.) The bank said it is working with “the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Kfw” on what it described as “electricity interconnection” between Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The bank’s Trust Fund will fund the bill for the feasibility
studies of the WAPP project indicated at 5 million Euros and has also slated a 100million Euro loan for the project, attracting an interest subsidy rate of 25million Euros.
The EIB is the long-term financing institution of the European Union.
The primary mission of the bank is to help implement the EU’s policy objectives by financing “sound business projects”. The Bank operates on a “not for profit maximising” basis and borrows on the capital markets to finance these projects.
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