ECOWAS: EBID and Coris Holding sign an 80 million euro financing agreement for agricultural and energy value chains

On July 30, 2026, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID/BIDC) and the banking group Coris Holding SA signed an 80 million euro financing agreement at the EBID headquarters in Lomé, Togo, aimed at strengthening agricultural, food, and energy value chains in West Africa. This signing comes as ECOWAS member states seek to reduce their dependence on food and energy imports, against a global backdrop of inflation and commodity volatility. EBID, based in Lomé, traditionally finances infrastructure and the productive sector of the fifteen member countries. Coris Holding SA, head of the Coris banking group operating in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, and elsewhere in the sub-region, is expected to act as a bridge to local economic actors. The source does not specify the exact allocation of funds between sectors, the signatories, or the repayment terms. For agricultural and energy SMEs, this agreement could facilitate access to medium-term credit, which is often scarce in the region. For states, it reinforces the ambition for economic integration championed by ECOWAS and the AfCFTA. Analysis: this partnership illustrates the sought-after complementarity between regional development banks and pan-African private banking groups, the latter offering a proximity network that multilateral institutions do not always have.