The Tunisia-based financial services provider, Union Bancaire pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (UBCI), has signed a medium-term financing agreement worth TND150 million with the Tunisian micro-finance institution, Enda Tamweel.
UBCI is a leading commercial bank and an operating subsidiary of BNP Paribas, a French global banking group ranked as the largest bank in Europe and the seventh-largest globally by assets.
The Tunisian bank operates under the leadership of Tunisian banker and multimillionaire businessman Mehdi Tamarziste, who controls a substantial 12.9-percent stake in the lender.
According to the deal terms, Enda Tamweel will receive TND150 million ($52.5 million) in the form of a medium-term loan disbursal in three tranches at a rate of TND50 million ($17.5 million) annually.
The credit facility, which has a five-year maturity period, will make it possible for Enda Tamweel to render support through microcredits to micro-entrepreneurs excluded from bank-financing offers and operating in rural areas. This is expected to drive-in positive growth in the economy.
The financing reflects UBCI’s commitment to reach individuals and businesses in Tunisia with limited access to loans and other credit facilities.
While commenting on the deal, UBCI Managing Director Mohamed Koubaa said the strategic partnership not only makes sense in terms of business, but will allow the two institutions to better serve the Tunisian economy.
“Even more today, with the ambition of the UBCI to be at the service of this Tunisian economy in all these social and professional levels,” Koubaa said. “The success of Enda is a factor major factor for the country’s social and economic stability. This same stability will ultimately contribute indirectly to improving our risks.”