The acquisition is the IFC’s first in Africa under its Distressed Assets Recovery Program (DARP) which, over the last decade, has supported distressed asset markets across the world.
It marks a significant development for a continent faced with rapidly rising NPLs and a lack of options for resolving them. As Covid-19 relief measures like payment holidays expire, Moody’s says NPLs across the continent will double in 2021, curbing banks’ ability to lend credit vital to economic recovery.