Ecobank successfully issues its USD 400 million bond, with support from Proparco as anchor investor

As development partner of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“ETI”) since 2012, Proparco lent strong support to this oversubscribed bond issuance: high investor demand saw orders take up around 200 % at their peak, on the London Stock Exchange, which hosts the first sub-Saharan African bond successfully issued by an African bank since 2021.  Proparco’s role as Anchor Investor, committing to subscribe USD 20 million ahead of the official launch of the operation, alongside the other Anchors, has been key to ultimately mobilize USD 255 million of private subscriptions.

Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco said, “Proparco is proud to once again partner with Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, having previously supported them as an anchor investor in their inaugural international bond issue in 2019. ETI continues to lead the way for the African financial sector, and this time, alongside AFC and TDB, Proparco is playing a catalytic role in mobilizing private finance to bolster the efforts of Africa’s largest pan-African bank to pave the way for sustainable growth”.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) is the holding company of the Lomé-based Ecobank Group, which operates 33 banking subsidiaries on the African continent. ETI is a key player in the banking sector in sub-Saharan Africa, offering a wide range of products for SMEs and providing market-leading financial services, even in fragile economies.

At the 2023 Climate COP, a syndicate of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFIs), led by Proparco has signed a USD 200 million Sustainability-Linked Loan to support Ecobank Group’s Sustainability and Climate strategy. This was already a significant milestone as it was part of the first sustainability-linked loan of a sub-Saharan African financial institution.

Ecobank is definitely setting the trend, for impactful financial investment.