MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: East African Community (EAC), World Bank Sign $16m Grant Agreement for Financial Sector Development and Regionalization Project

The East African Community (EAC), an intergovernmental organization whose members include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, recently announced that it received a USD 16 million grant from the World Bank, a multilateral development finance organization based in Washington, DC, for its Financial Sector Development and Regionalization Project (FSDRP). According to EAC, the objectives of the project are to improve financial inclusion and strengthen market participants; coordinate financial regulation and supervisory agencies; integrate financial market infrastructure; build financial capacity; and develop a regional bond market.

The project will be implemented in two phases. The USD 16 million grant from the World Bank will support the first phase (EAC-FSDRP I), which will focus on the development of a single financial market among EAC countries in an effort to make financial products and services easily available at competitive prices to all East Africans. EAC-FSDRP I will begin this year and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014. Information regarding the second phase has yet to be released.

By Julie Moksim, Research Associate

About East African Community (EAC): EAC is a regional intergovernmental organization whose members include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. EAC was established in 2000 as a result of a treaty between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Rwanda and Burundi joined the community in 2007. Its current headquarters is in Arusha, Tanzania. As of 2010, EAC reported representing a total population of 133.5 million. Gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 of EAC member countries totaled the equivalent of USD 74.5 million.

About the World Bank: The World Bank is a development finance organization that is made up of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). IBRD makes loans and grants and provides analytical and advisory services to middle-income countries and poorer countries that are deemed creditworthy, with the aim of promoting sustainable development to reduce poverty. IDA offers interest-free credits and grants to the world’s 81 poorest countries, where a majority of the people live on less than USD 2 per day. IDA resources and technical assistance support country-led poverty reduction strategies in the following policy areas: increased productivity, better governance and accountability, an improved private investment climate and access to education and healthcare.

Sources and Additional Resources:

East African Community (EAC) Press Release: “EAC and World Bank Sign $16m Grant”, February 14, 2011, http://www.eac.int/about-eac/eacnews/564.html?task=view

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: East African Community

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=east+african+community

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: World Bank

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=The+World+Bank+Group

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

Similar Posts: