Call for Applications: ITC, Access Bank SME Growth Programme

The International Trade Centre (ITC) and Access Bank have entered into a three-year partnership aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across 14 African countries gain better access to finance, business skills and new markets.

The agreement was formalised through a memorandum of understanding signed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The initiative will begin with a pilot programme in Ghana before expanding to other participating countries from 2027.

The partnership will cover Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

At the heart of the initiative is an effort to address some of the persistent barriers limiting the growth of African SMEs, particularly difficulties accessing finance, trade-ready skills and regional markets.

The programme will focus on five key areas: SME-driven job creation, access to finance, business sustainability, capacity building and market access. Particular attention will be given to women- and youth-owned businesses under the financing component.

Training will include digital trade skills, while the market-access component will support businesses seeking to participate in intra-African commerce, including opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The first phase will run from September 2026 to June 2027, targeting a group of small businesses in Ghana, with women-led enterprises receiving priority.

The Ghana pilot will draw on ITC’s existing digital learning resources and training-of-trainers programmes, delivered in collaboration with staff from the Access Africa Office. The partners plan to expand the initiative from 2027, including advanced training on sustainability standards and digital marketplace tools.

ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said the partnership would tackle the financing challenge facing small businesses while giving them access to the knowledge, networks and market connections needed to grow.

For Access Bank, the collaboration reflects the view that funding alone is not sufficient to help SMEs scale. Seyi Kumapayi, Executive Director, African Subsidiaries at Access Bank, said combining capital with market access and trade-ready skills would give businesses a stronger foundation for expansion.

The partnership brings together ITC’s expertise in trade development, business knowledge and international market connections with Access Bank’s pan-African banking network. Access Bank says it operates through more than 700 branches across 25 countries and serves more than 63 million customers.

The initiative also aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8 and 9, covering gender equality, decent work and economic growth, and industry, innovation and infrastructure.

For participating SMEs, the programme is expected to combine three elements often critical to business expansion: access to capital, practical skills and connections to new markets.

As the Ghana pilot gets underway, ITC and Access Bank intend to use the first phase to build a model that can be expanded across the other participating African markets from 2027.