SMBC builds Africa presence with four new collaborations

It aims to support trade and investment, financing, and alleviate food shortages, it said.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is expanding operations in Africa with four business collaborations announced.

The Japanese megabank has signed four memorandums of understanding (MOU) with Tanzania’s CRDB Bank, fintech M-KOPA, development bank BOAD, and agritech firm Kubota Corporation on various initiatives related to Africa.

SMBC’s MOU with CRDB Bank aims to strengthen mutual collaboration between the two institutions in the financial sector space and beyond. Through this, SMBC said that it will enhance its support on Africa’s social-economic growth.

Meanwhile, M-KOPA will leverage SMBC’s extensive network of multilateral financial institutions, export credit agencies, and other financial entities across Africa to explore financing opportunities.

M-KOPA is a fintech company operating in five African countries, offering pay-as-you-go smartphone financing and embedded financing services. The company targets individuals working in the informal sector, who it said were often without credit histories, collateral, and guarantor.

SMBC also aims to expand trade and investment in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region through collaboration with the Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD).

Under the collaboration, SMBC and BOAD is expected to enhance client support by promoting partnerships with Japanese companies and other stakeholders and by creating investment opportunities in the WAEMU region.

BOAD is a financial institution established to support the economic and social development of West African countries. It provides assistance across a wide range of areas, including infrastructure development, industrial promotion, trade facilitation, and introduction of renewable energy, amongst others.

Finally, SMBC also inked an MOU with Kubota Corporation to promote agricultural mechanization and contribute to alleviating food shortages in Africa.

The Osaka-native company is described as a leader in the fields of agricultural machinery, water systems, and construction equipment, operating in over 130 countries and regions.

SMBC will support Kubota’s initiatives by providing financial services such as corporate finance, trade finance, and ECA (Export Credit Agency) finance.

Together, SMBC and Kubota aim to accelerate agricultural mechanization in Africa, where rapid population growth, rising geopolitical risks, soaring food prices, and supply chain disruptions have made improving food self-sufficiency an urgent priority, according to a press release.