---
title: Half of Canada's €40 Million Loan to an Ivorian Bank Is Reserved for Climate Lending
description: FinDev Canada reserves half of its €40 million loan to NSIA Banque Côte d'Ivoire for climate lending, and at least 30 percent for women-owned businesses.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-08-07T03:19:07.658Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/findev-canada-nsia-banque-climate-sme-loan
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/nsia-banque-cote-divoire-branch-114511.webp
categories: Finance
content_type: News
region: Middle East & Africa
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

FinDev Canada, Canada's bilateral development finance institution, has agreed to lend up to €40 million to NSIA Banque Côte d'Ivoire, the country's second-largest bank, on terms that reserve half the money for climate lending and at least 30 percent of it for women-owned and women-led small businesses. It is the institution's first direct investment in the country.

The loan was signed on 8 May, and the conditions attached to it appear in a [transaction summary](https://www.findevcanada.ca/sites/default/files/2026-07/NSIA-EN-D1.pdf) FinDev Canada published on 30 July. That document sets the climate share at half the loan; the announcement that followed on 6 August described it as the remaining proceeds.

## Most of the Small-Business Half Is Reserved for Women-Owned Firms

The facility is a senior unsecured term loan running up to six years. Half is earmarked for [climate financing](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/oeeb-green-lending-quota-ueno-bank-paraguay) and half for small and medium-sized enterprises, and because the women's floor is set against the whole loan rather than the SME portion, it takes up most of that portion. NSIA already offers women entrepreneurs lower interest rates, partial grace periods and loan terms of up to five years.

The deal qualifies under the 2X Challenge, the standard development finance institutions use to mark investments that advance women's economic participation, on two counts. Women hold half of NSIA's senior management posts, and at least 30 percent of the proceeds are dedicated to women-owned SMEs.

Before lending, FinDev Canada reviewed NSIA's environmental and social policies and visited the bank, benchmarking it against the relevant IFC performance standards. It classified the loan FI-2, the category used for lending to a bank whose own borrowers span many sectors but where the risks are judged manageable case by case. NSIA has run an environmental and social management system since 2020.

## The Climate Half Goes to Solar Panels and Electric Vehicle Leasing

NSIA plans to put the climate money into renewable energy and energy efficiency lending: solar installations on commercial, industrial and office buildings, and electric vehicle leasing. Côte d'Ivoire needs an estimated $10 billion in mitigation spending to meet its national climate commitments, on FinDev Canada's assessment, and the country is exposed to disruption of its farm output and food supply.

“This investment demonstrates how FinDev Canada works with leading financial institutions to move capital into priority markets,” said Lori Kerr, the institution's chief executive. “Through our partnership with NSIA Banque and Citi, we are expanding access to finance for SMEs, women entrepreneurs, and climate investments in Côte d'Ivoire while strengthening Canada's long-term partnerships across Africa.”

## Korea's Export Bank Matched Canada's €40 Million

FinDev Canada's loan sits inside a syndicated facility of up to €100 million. Its [disclosure register](https://www.findevcanada.ca/en/governance/transparency-policy-and-approach) gives the three shares: Citibank N.A. €20 million, the Export-Import Bank of Korea €40 million and FinDev Canada €40 million. Citibank arranged the facility.

## Two Thirds of Ivorian Businesses Cannot Get Bank Credit

Businesses below the large corporate segment make up 98 percent of Côte d'Ivoire's formal companies, and nearly two thirds of them cannot get bank credit, leaving a financing gap FinDev Canada puts at $2.4 billion. Women lead 24 percent of Ivorian enterprises and account for 6 percent of that gap.

NSIA is headquartered in Abidjan and serves about 1.53 million customers through 84 branches, 121 cash machines and one representative office in Paris for the Ivorian diaspora, with close to a thousand staff. It became part of the NSIA Group in 2006, when the group bought and rebranded BIAO Banque Côte d'Ivoire. The bank is targeting 15 percent annual growth in new SME lending and plans four more dedicated branches in the Abidjan region by the end of 2026.

“This partnership with FinDev Canada marks an important milestone in our ambition to foster more inclusive and sustainable growth in Côte d'Ivoire,” said Léonce Yacé, NSIA Banque Côte d'Ivoire's chief executive. “It will strengthen our ability to support small and medium-sized enterprises, promote women's entrepreneurship, and finance projects that contribute to the country's energy transition.”

## FAQ

**Q: What is FinDev Canada?**
FinDev Canada is Canada's bilateral development finance institution. It lends to businesses and financial institutions in developing countries, often alongside commercial banks, to widen access to finance in markets it treats as priorities.

**Q: What does an FI-2 environmental and social risk category mean?**
FI-2 is the classification development finance institutions use for a loan to a bank or other financial intermediary whose own lending could reach a broad range of sectors, but where the environmental and social risks are judged manageable at the level of each individual borrower rather than large in themselves.

**Q: What is the 2X Challenge?**
The 2X Challenge is a standard development finance institutions use to identify investments that advance women's economic participation, either through leadership, such as the share of women in senior management, or through lending directed at women-owned and women-led businesses.

**Q: What is a senior unsecured term loan?**
A senior unsecured term loan is money lent for a fixed period with no collateral pledged against it, ranking ahead of other creditors for repayment if the borrower fails. For a bank, it is a way to raise funds without tying up assets.