Only 5% of formal businesses in Djibouti receive bank financing, according to estimates.

Banks in Djibouti are fairly liquid, but they are often unwilling to lend to micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs) because of low appetite for risk and insufficient collateral.

However, MSMEs are important for job creation and economic growth. To improve their access to finance, Djibouti’s Central Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Finance reached out to the World Bank and FIRST Initiative for technical assistance to design a Partial Credit Guarantee Fund (PCG Fund) as part of a broader initiative to lay the foundation for private sector growth.