OFID signs first-ever bilateral trade finance loan for Burkina Faso

December 3.  The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has signed its first-ever bilateral trade finance loan for Burkina Faso. The €10m trade finance facility is being extended through one of the country’s private banks, Coris Bank International. The loan will be used by CBI to provide sub-loans for import and export related finance transactions in all sectors for the country’s corporations, which will in turn benefit the people of Burkina Faso.

The loan agreement was signed by OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish and CBI CEO Idrissa Nassa.

The local banking sector in Burkina Faso comprises 13 banks, most of them regional. CBI is the second largest bank in the country, with a market share of 18% after Ecobank. The bank started as a microfinance institution and as a bank for small- and medium-sized enterprises. With around 400 employees and 35 branches, CBI is now a universal bank, that is active as a wholesale and retail bank.