The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, has signed partnership agreements with leading health technology company Philips and the Co-operative Bank of Kenya to help small businesses in the health sector. health in Africa to acquire essential medical equipment and strengthen their response to Covid-19.
The partnerships, signed this Wednesday, April 14, are part of the IFC-led Africa Medical Equipment Facility, designed to provide risk-sharing facilities to help small businesses access up to to $ 300 million in loans and leases. The facility covers healthcare providers in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. The amount of loans granted is expected to vary between 5,000 and 2 million USD.
“Many small healthcare companies in Africa do not have the equipment they need to respond to Covid-19 and provide other vital services. Unlocking access to finance can save lives now and will strengthen health systems across the continent in the long run, ”said Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of IFC.
IFC also plans to expand the Africa Medical Equipment Center to more countries and invites interested financial institutions and equipment manufacturers to contact it to explore partnerships.
The Co-operative Bank, Kenya’s fourth-largest bank in terms of assets ($ 5.1 billion), reported a 10% drop in net income for the nine months ending September 30, 2020, citing a reduction in banking transactions and increased provisions to cushion the economic disruption caused by the pandemic.
