A bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo called Rawbank has joined the IFC’s global trade finance programme.

Under the programme, the bank is set to receive a US$3mn facility to support its global trade finance operations. The transaction marks an expansion of IFC’s advisory services in the country, which are helping develop the country’s private sector.

Rawbank will now be able to benefit from the IFC issuing guarantees against all of the bank’s underlying trade transactions, covering payment risk and working to increase the DRC’s overall global trade volumes. Usually banks in the DRC are required to post cash as collateral for all their trade-related transactions, which makes it expensive for companies to trade with overseas firms.

The DRC remains one of the world’s poorest countries, with a GDP of US$143 per person.