The International Trade Centre and Access Bank have launched a three-year partnership to support small and medium-sized enterprises in 14 African countries. The programme aims to unlock finance, skills, and market access for SMEs, with a focus on job creation. The partnership was announced on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. It will begin with a pilot in Ghana from September 2026 to June 2027, prioritising women-led enterprises.
African small businesses account for the bulk of the continent's employment, but many face challenges due to limited access to credit, weak market linkages, and insufficient trade-ready skills. The ITC-Access Bank partnership seeks to address these gaps by combining the UN small-business agency's technical expertise with Access Bank's pan-African branch network and customer base. Access Bank operates over 700 branches across 25 countries, serving more than 63 million customers.
The partnership will focus on five priority areas over the next three years. These include job creation through SMEs, access to finance with special attention to women- and youth-owned businesses, business sustainability for SMEs, capacity building including digital trade skills, and access to markets with support for intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area. The work is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8, and 9.
The Ghana pilot will support a cohort of small businesses using ITC's digital learning tools and training-of-trainers programmes delivered alongside Access Africa Office staff. Women-led firms will be prioritised in this first phase. From 2027, the partners plan to expand the programme to additional countries and introduce advanced modules on sustainability standards and digital marketplace tools.
ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton emphasised that access to finance remains a significant barrier to trade for small businesses across Africa. She noted that the partnership with Access Bank aims to tackle this challenge and equip enterprises with the knowledge, networks, and market connections they need to grow. Access Bank's Seyi Kumapayi added that capital must be paired with skills and market access to help SMEs scale.
The partnership covers 14 countries, including Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. The programme aims to support millions of jobs on the continent by providing SMEs with the necessary resources to grow and succeed.
The ITC-Access Bank partnership is a significant development in the effort to support SMEs and job creation in Africa. By combining technical expertise with a pan-African branch network, the partnership has the potential to make a substantial impact on the continent's economic growth and development.
Key points
- The partnership aims to support millions of jobs in 14 African countries by providing SMEs with access to finance, skills, and market access.
- The programme will prioritise women-led enterprises in its initial phase and focus on job creation, finance, and inclusion.
- The partnership is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8, and 9, and will run for three years.
