The African Development Bank (AfDB) has invested USD 332 million (ZAR 5.4 billion) in a capital markets security issued by Standard Bank Group Limited to expand financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across South Africa.
The investment is expected to strengthen access to finance for businesses, including women-led enterprises, while supporting the country’s evolving banking sector.
Alongside the investment, the Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) programme is providing a USD 1 million (ZAR 16 million) technical assistance grant through the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) window. The grant will help address barriers faced by women entrepreneurs by supporting the adoption of digital payment tools to build verifiable credit histories and providing enterprise and supplier development support for women-led SMEs.
Together, the investment and technical assistance package are designed to enhance Standard Bank’s capacity to finance SMEs and promote inclusive economic growth.
The facility is structured as a Flac instrument, a new category of debt introduced by the South African Reserve Bank in January 2026 as part of the country’s phased implementation of a bank resolution regime. The security has been issued as a social bond listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), making it Standard Bank Group’s first Flac instrument on the exchange dedicated to financing social initiatives.
Standard Bank Group has committed to deploying the entire ZAR 5.4 billion towards financing SMEs, including women-led businesses, as part of efforts to address the persistent gender financing gap within South Africa’s small business sector.
The latest investment builds on a longstanding partnership between the African Development Bank and Standard Bank Group that began in 2008. It follows the Bank’s approval in November 2024 of a ZAR 3.6 billion subordinated debt facility for Standard Bank Group, alongside a USD 200 million risk participation agreement with The Standard Bank of South Africa to support trade finance across the continent.
According to the African Development Bank, the 2024 facility had been fully utilised by December 2025, supporting 5,425 SMEs, surpassing the original target of 4,000 businesses. Financing was directed towards enterprises operating in agriculture, retail, wholesale trade, and manufacturing sectors.
