In Mauritania, access to finance remains a significant barrier for entrepreneurs, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and women-led businesses. Despite an abundance of potential, many promising ventures struggle to grow due to limited liquidity, weak trade support and structural barriers that stifle innovation. But a newly approved initiative by the African Development Bank Group promises to change that, offering fresh momentum to businesses ready to scale and transform the local economy.
The Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a €25.5 million trade finance facility for Générale de Banque de Mauritanie (GBM), a major milestone that signals confidence in the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The facility is designed to expand GBM’s financial support for large corporates, SMEs and crucially, businesses led by women. By making capital more accessible and financial tools more robust, this initiative is expected to directly benefit those who have often been left behind in traditional finance systems.
More than a funding package, this initiative is a catalyst for entrepreneurship-led development. It injects liquidity where it’s most needed, opens new pathways for international trade and provides targeted support for sectors that can drive long-term growth, sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, fisheries, infrastructure and light manufacturing. For Mauritanian entrepreneurs, especially women, this marks a meaningful shift in how they can access opportunities and compete in both local and global markets.
A Comprehensive Financing Solution for Growth
The approved funding includes a €15 million trade finance line of credit, a €5 million trade finance guarantee and a €500,000 grant under the Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program, backed by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi). In addition to this, the package includes $5 million in co-financing from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), a collaborative effort between the African Development Bank and the People’s Bank of China aimed at enhancing development finance in Africa.
This facility comes at a critical time. Entrepreneurs in Mauritania continue to face challenges when it comes to importing essential equipment and raw materials. Limited access to trade finance tools like letters of credit often delays production cycles, weakens supplier relationships and increases operational risks. With the introduction of this funding line, GBM will be better positioned to meet those needs, providing guarantees that make trade transactions more secure and more attractive to confirming banks. According to Ahmed Attout, Director of the Financial Sector Development Department at the African Development Bank, the Bank will now be able to offer up to 100% coverage on confirming instruments, making it easier for GBM clients to do business internationally.
But this initiative is not just about technical financing mechanisms. It represents a shift in thinking, where finance is seen not only as a tool for profitability but as a pathway to inclusivity, job creation and economic resilience. GBM’s CEO, Leila Boumatou, underscored this sentiment, saying: “This initiative goes beyond financial progress, it is a real lever for inclusive growth. It empowers our entrepreneurs, particularly women, to turn local ambitions into tangible outcomes.” Boumatou also noted that the facility will allow the bank to bridge a longstanding structural financing gap, turning financial instruments into real-world outcomes, supporting women-led SMEs, fostering industrial innovation and building a stronger, more self-reliant economy.
Women Entrepreneurs at the Center of Inclusive Development
Her leadership carries special weight. GBM is currently the only bank in Mauritania led by a woman and has positioned itself as a leading institution in international trade finance. With a team of 115 staff, equity of €68 million and a balance sheet of €209 million, GBM already serves a business portfolio of 1,300 clients. This new facility will further expand its capacity to support enterprises working in Mauritania’s most vital and emerging sectors.
For women entrepreneurs in particular, the AFAWA grant is a welcome and strategic tool. Across Africa, women continue to face barriers to formal financing, including lack of collateral, bias in lending decisions and limited access to networks. AFAWA aims to change that by closing the gender financing gap and ensuring that women-led businesses have the same opportunities to grow, export and innovate. The €500,000 grant allocated under this initiative will help GBM tailor its offerings more effectively to women entrepreneurs, through capacity-building, risk sharing and more inclusive lending practices.
Malinne Blomberg, Deputy Director General for North Africa at the African Development Bank, stressed that this initiative reflects a broader commitment by the Bank to scale up private sector support in Mauritania. “This facility will strengthen GBM’s ability to support Mauritania’s economy, stimulate local productive sectors and drive economic growth while creating and sustaining thousands of jobs,” she said. In a country where youth unemployment and underemployment are persistent challenges, this type of intervention has the potential to open new opportunities for self-employment and enterprise-led job creation.
Creating a More Resilient Business Landscape
In practical terms, the trade finance facility will allow local businesses to import the equipment and supplies they need to increase productivity and efficiency. Whether it’s new machinery for fisheries, technology for telecommunications or solar panels for renewable energy firms, the funding will make it easier for businesses to source what they need, on time and with manageable risk. It will also help them tap into new markets, both within the region and internationally, by making their operations more reliable and attractive to partners.
Ultimately, this facility does more than just finance trade, it strengthens an ecosystem. It provides businesses with the means to grow, the confidence to take risks and the security to scale sustainably. It creates space for women to lead, for SMEs to compete and for local value chains to evolve. And in doing so, it reinforces Mauritania’s broader ambitions to foster private sector development as a key pillar of national economic growth.
For entrepreneurs across Mauritania, this initiative is a signal that the landscape is changing. Support is growing. Resources are expanding. And opportunities, once distant or out of reach, are becoming real and within grasp.
What remains is for entrepreneurs to rise to the challenge, build boldly and take full advantage of the new financial tools now available to them. With the right support, Mauritania’s businesses, led by both women and men, can drive the country toward a more inclusive, diversified and resilient future.
