DEG launches new “TradeConnect” programme – first contract concluded with Access Bank in Nigeria

DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH is adding a new instrument to the range of services it offers German companies: TradeConnect. This closes local gaps in financing for small-volume export and import transactions in developing and emerging countries. The first contract with a local partner bank, Access Bank in Nigeria, a longstanding customer of DEG, was signed on 2 December 2025. DEG and Access Bank already operate a German Desk there, providing a one-stop support service for German companies and local businesses. TradeConnect is a further development of its ImpactConnect programme, which is aimed specifically at German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and is made possible with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

What is TradeConnect?

TradeConnect acts as a guarantee instrument for trade financing. It supports local banks in developing and emerging countries when lending to partners of German companies by securing up to EUR 5 million or a maximum of 50% of the volume of the loan. This allows small-volume transactions to be executed for which no financing options would previously have been available locally. The instrument will initially be available through Access Bank in sub-Saharan Africa.

First cooperation agreement for trade financing in sub-Saharan Africa

The Managing Director of Access Bank, Roosevelt Ogbonna, signed the agreement in Lagos. On the German side Klaus Helsper, Head of Department German Business at DEG, the German Consul General Daniel Krull and representatives of German companies, including delegates from Bosch, DHL, KHS and Wilo, attended the event.

“Small-volume transactions in particular often fail due to a lack of financing at local level,” Jan Müller, head of the Connect programmes at DEG, said at the launch. “With our new TradeConnect programme, we’re creating an innovative solution here.”

Targeted expansion of services for German companies

TradeConnect supplements DEG’s existing range of services for German SMEs operating in developing and emerging countries. The range includes:

• Long-term financing for German SMEs and industrial firms.
• The ImpactConnect programme, which supports smaller investments with loans on attractive terms.
• The German Desks, which provide support with bridging financial and language barriers in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Business Support Services (BSS) of DEG’s subsidiary DEG Impulse, which advise companies on sustainability and climate.

The new TradeConnect programme will help to strengthen trade relations, minimise risks and promote economic cooperation.