CRDB Bank Plc has secured a $75 million long-term financing facility from Dutch development bank FMO, strengthened partnerships with Afreximbank and Shelter Afrique Development Bank, and launched a framework to measure its sustainable development impact.
The announcements were made at the Africa Investor Forum in Bangkok on October 15, held alongside the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings, as the Tanzanian lender sought to connect investment opportunities across Africa with international capital.
Hosted by CRDB Bank in partnership with Invest Africa, the forum brought together investors, development finance institutions and the bank’s leadership teams from Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the United Arab Emirates under the theme One Bank, Every Bridge: Connecting Africa’s Growth to the World’s Capital.
The $75 million facility from FMO, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, will run for approximately 10 years and strengthen CRDB’s Tier II capital base, supporting its financial resilience and capacity to expand lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The financing also benefits from the European Commission’s MSME Platform Guarantee, which helps unlock funding for businesses that play a critical role in entrepreneurship, employment and inclusive economic growth.
FMO Chief Executive Officer Michael Jongeneel said the partnership would strengthen access to finance for entrepreneurs and businesses, supporting job creation and sustainable economic development across Tanzania.
Bank adopts sustainable impact framework
CRDB also launched its Sustainable Development Impact Disclosure Framework, becoming the first Tanzanian issuer to adopt the Impact Disclosure Guidance.
Published in October 2024 by the Impact Disclosure Taskforce, co-chaired by J.P. Morgan and Natixis, the voluntary guidance helps financial institutions measure and report the anticipated and realised development impact of their operations and investment portfolios.
CRDB’s framework focuses on three priorities: expanding access to financial services, promoting local economic development and job creation, and advancing digital financial innovation.
These objectives support Sustainable Development Goals covering poverty reduction, food security, gender equality and decent work. The framework establishes metrics and targets against which the bank will monitor and report progress.
Alexandra Barry, J.P. Morgan’s Executive Director and Head of Development Impact Advisory, said the disclosure would improve transparency around CRDB’s development objectives and how it intends to measure progress on financial inclusion, employment and gender equality.
Housing and regional trade financing
The bank also marked the extension of a $10 million facility from Shelter Afrique Development Bank to CRDB Bank DRC, targeting affordable housing and the construction value chain in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The financing advances a memorandum of understanding signed during the 2025 World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C. The agreement also provides for advisory support to strengthen CRDB’s housing finance capabilities across the housing value chain.
Shelter Afrique Development Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Thierno-Habib Hann said the facility had translated the institutions’ earlier agreement into funding for affordable housing development.
CRDB also renewed its memorandum of understanding with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), expanding cooperation established in 2023.
The renewed agreement covers trade finance, syndicated and structured financing, capital markets advisory, insurance, and digital payment infrastructure, including the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
It also provides for staff training and secondments while linking the CRDB Bank Foundation’s support for women- and youth-led businesses with Afreximbank’s Export SME Programme.
Tanzania seeks investment conversion
The forum formed part of a broader engagement programme running from October 13 to 16, featuring investor meetings and private roundtables focused on Tanzania, Burundi and the DRC. CRDB subsidiaries presented priority projects to potential financiers.
Bank of Tanzania Governor Emmanuel Tutuba said a resilient banking sector was essential to mobilising investment and financing economic growth, citing strong capital and liquidity positions in Tanzania’s banking industry.
Tanzania’s Finance Minister, Ambassador Khamis Mussa Omar, called for international partnerships to translate into investment, trade, technology transfers, skills development and measurable economic results.
CRDB Group Chief Executive Officer Abdulmajid Mussa Nsekela said the Bangkok engagements had connected the bank’s regional operations with international investors.
He said the financing agreements and impact disclosure framework were intended to strengthen lending capacity, support affordable housing and improve accountability for development outcomes.
The partnerships position CRDB to mobilise additional capital for businesses and development projects across East and Central Africa, while giving international investors a broader entry point into the region’s financial and productive sectors.
