Siddhartha Bank has boosted international trade opportunities for small businesses in Nepal after receiving a US$5mn trade-finance facility from the IFC.

This trade finance facility, extended under IFC’s GTFP, will help Siddhartha Bank establish trade partnerships with over 250 international banks.

“This trade line will help expand our capacity to finance local importers and exporters. More importantly, we can better support smaller businesses with our trade finance products,” says Surender Bhandari, chief executive officer at Siddhartha Bank.

This investment adds to IFC’s list of five existing banks that are supported under IFC’s GTFP in Nepal.

“IFC’s support to Siddhartha Bank fits well with our strategy to partner financial institutions that are committed to developing Nepal’s small and medium enterprises,” adds Valentino Bagatsing, IFC resident representative for Nepal. “The facility will provide access to over 100 emerging market countries for the bank.”

IFC launched its GTFP in 2005 to help increase global trade in developing countries and promote flows of goods and services among these nations.

The programme now has a network of more than 500 participating banks worldwide. Since its inception, it has covered over 25,000 trade transactions and supported over US$27bn in emerging market trade, without a single loss.