On January 27, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement with FirstRand Bank Limited (“FRB”), a private bank in the Republic of South Africa.
This project will directly contribute to the “Strengthening Efforts to Close the Financing Gap for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)” in the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) Action Plan, which was set forth in the November 2025 G20 South Africa Summit Leaders’ Declaration.
JICA has been supporting South African companies to improve their quality, productivity, and competitiveness by leveraging Japan’s experience through the Technical Cooperation “Quality and Productivity Improvement (Kaizen) Project” in South Africa. The combination of the promotion of financial inclusion through this project and the results of the technical cooperation to date is expected to have a further synergistic effect on industrial development in South Africa, and is also expected to contribute to the improvement of the business environment for private companies, including Japanese companies, in the country.
The project will be co-financed by the German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG, the managing bank), the Netherlands Development Finance Corporation (FMO), and the French Overseas Economic Cooperation Promotion Corporation (Proparco).
financier
FirstRand Bank Limited (“FRB”).
Country (region covered)
Republic of South Africa
Loan amount (maximum)
100 million U.S. dollars
case name
Sustainable Finance Promotion Project
Business Objectives
This project will provide long-term loans to FRB, a local bank in South Africa, to promote its sustainable finance business that contributes to the realization of a sustainable and inclusive society, including loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and loans for renewable energy projects, which FRB is engaged in. MSMEs”) by promoting sustainable finance projects that contribute to the realization of a sustainable and inclusive society, such as loans for renewable energy projects. By promoting sustainable finance projects that contribute to the realization of a sustainable and inclusive society, such as loans for renewable energy projects, the project will contribute to the expansion of employment and social participation opportunities for women and youth, as well as to the sustainable economic growth of the country.
Business Overview
Loans under the project will be sub-loaned through the FRB to MSMEs, including women and youth, throughout South Africa; JICA loans will be sub-loaned only to MSMEs, and 30% will be sub-loaned to women-owned MSMEs.
Contribution to SDGs
Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality)
Goal 8 (both job satisfaction and economic growth)
Goal 17 (Let’s achieve our goals in partnership)
Other
Since 1993, the Government of Japan, together with the United Nations, the World Bank, the African Union, and others, has hosted the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), an international conference on African development. At the most recent TICAD 9, held in Yokohama in August 2025, JICA launched IDEA (Impact Investing for Development of Emerging Africa), a public-private partnership initiative to promote impact investing in Africa that aims to mobilize funds for companies and institutions that are interested in social and environmental impact as well as economic benefits. This project is the flagship of IDEA.
＜Reference: Information on the Government of Japan and JICA’s external public relations
The G7 2X Challenge: Financing for Women initiative is an initiative in which development finance institutions in the G7 countries, including JICA, use their own funding to promote the economic empowerment of women by fostering women entrepreneurs and business leaders and encouraging their entry into the labor market. The FRB is actively working to hire female management and employees, and since 30% of the funds from this project will be used to provide loans to women-owned MSMEs, this project will also contribute to the 2X Challenge Initiative.
＜Reference: 2X Challenge Secretariat’s official website
Chairman Tanaka inspecting the FRB’s loan recipient (barbershop) Barbershop owned by a South African to which the FRB provides loans
© Source JICA