National Bank of Kenya (NBK) has joined a new pan-African partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC) aimed at expanding opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises across Africa.
The partnership covers 14 African markets and will focus on strengthening SMEs’ access to finance, business and digital trade skills, sustainability capabilities and new markets.
The programme will begin with a pilot in Ghana before expanding into additional African markets. Kenya’s participation through NBK will form part of the wider initiative to help SMEs strengthen their competitiveness, access new opportunities and participate more actively in regional and cross-border trade.
The collaboration brings together financial and business support to address some of the challenges facing SMEs as they seek to grow, adopt digital tools and access markets beyond their home countries.
By combining access to finance with business development, digital trade skills and sustainability capabilities, the partnership aims to support SMEs in building the capacity required to operate in increasingly connected African markets.
The initiative also aligns with broader efforts to strengthen intra-African trade by helping businesses develop stronger cross-border connections and participate in regional value chains.
NBK’s involvement gives Kenyan SMEs a pathway into a wider pan-African programme focused on improving business capabilities and expanding access to finance and markets.
The partnership will initially test its approach in Ghana before extending the programme to other participating African markets.
