FinDev Canada to Lend $50M to Zambia’s Zanaco

In Short

FinDev Canada will provide an approximately $50 million loan to Zanaco, the largest financial institution in Zambia. The loan is intended to improve access to financial services for small and medium-sized businesses, including women-owned or led businesses and agribusinesses.

What Happened

The Government of Canada said Prime Minister Carney announced new investments totalling more than $70 million at the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.

One of the investments is a loan from FinDev Canada to Zanaco. Canada said the loan will support improved access to financial services for SMEs, including women-owned or led SMEs and agribusinesses.

Canada said this is FinDev Canada’s first direct investment in Zambia. It also described the loan as an opportunity to advance Canada’s bilateral relations with Zambia, in line with Canada’s Africa Strategy.

The broader package also includes funding for climate-related programmes in Caribbean countries. These include $10 million over six years with UNICEF to support resilient schools and education across Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. It also includes $5 million over two years with UNOPS for a Caribbean resilient infrastructure facility, $5 million over two years to support the World Food Programme’s Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub in Barbados, and $3 million over three years with the International Trade Centre for a project focused on sargassum-based products in the Caribbean.

Why It Matters

For Zambia, the FinDev Canada loan could increase the amount of finance available to SMEs, including women-led businesses and agribusinesses. Access to finance often determines whether smaller firms can expand operations, hire staff, or manage working capital.

The deal also signals continued interest from development finance institutions in financing banks and financial institutions as a channel for reaching SMEs.