PFB Online: Your Investment Guarantee in Just a Few Clicks

Access to Long-Term Project Financing for African Businesses

As business leaders in Africa, you are undoubtedly aware that your role is essential to local economies. In fact, businesses represent approximately 90% of investments, generate around 80% of jobs, and contribute up to 40% of GDP in certain economies, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB, 2023).

Despite this significance, you are often seen as high-risk borrowers by banks, the primary providers of financing. These institutions view you as a high risk for default, particularly due to vulnerability to economic fluctuations, as highlighted by the International Labour Organization (ILO, 2022).

Currently, less than 20% of African businesses have access to bank credit, according to 2023 data from the AfDB.

The direct consequences of these facts for businesses include:

• Self-financing: Around 80% of you rely on your own funds or informal financing, according to the World Bank (2022), which can limit the scale of your projects.
• Cost of credit: Interest rates for SME loans in Africa are often very high, sometimes exceeding 20%, making credit unaffordable for many, according to AfDB data (2023).
• Loan rejection rates: More than 50% of your loan applications are rejected by banks, primarily due to a lack of solid guarantees and perceived risks, according to a World Bank study (2022).

Beyond perceived risks, the lack of solid guarantees is a major obstacle for you. Guarantees, such as those offered by recognized financial institutions, are often necessary to secure loans. However, many of you struggle to provide these guarantees due to a lack of resources and, in some cases, weak financial standing.

This lack of adequate guarantees complicates access to bank credit and limits your opportunities for growth and development.

Overcoming these challenges is crucial to unlocking the potential of your businesses. Access to financing must be a priority to allow companies to thrive and continue playing their vital role in Africa’s economic development.

ETC Innovates with PFB Online to Facilitate Business Financing

PFB Online is a digitized process that allows companies to more easily and quickly obtain the guarantees required by banks for investment projects. The PFB (Project Finance Bond) is an investment guarantee specifically designed to cover banks against the risk of default on medium or long-term loans. This product is intended to support your investments in the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, excluding only the sectors prohibited by our code of ethics.

Thanks to the PFB, banks and other financial institutions can mitigate and manage the risk of loan defaults. This means they are more likely to grant you credit, knowing that their risks are largely covered by our guarantee.

PFB Online: How Does It Work?

PFB Online is available and accessible through our online platform. It offers you fast and secure processing for your requests as follows:

• Easily submit your requests online: Our platform is designed to be user-friendly and easy to use, allowing you to submit your guarantee requests in just a few clicks.
• Securely pay the entry fees: We offer secure online payment options with credit cards (VISA, Mastercard, or PayPal) to facilitate fee payments.
• Receive your preliminary agreement in just a few days: Once these conditions are met, you will quickly receive our preliminary terms of intervention.
• Receive your guarantee: After your validation of our Coverage Agreement, we issue the requested guarantee directly to your bank via SWIFT message.

   In summary PFB Online helps you overcome obstacles related to a lack of guarantees and the risks perceived by banks in a fast and reliable way. This facilitates your access to financing, supporting the growth of your business and contributing to the region’s economic prosperity.

To learn more about the PFB (Project Finance Bond) investment guarantee.