Medical equipment company GE Healthcare and financial services company NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire have partnered with development finance institution the International Finance Corporation's (IFC’s) Africa Medical Equipment Facility to support healthcare providers in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda in accessing essential medical equipment.

Through a multi-stakeholder approach, the IFC is partnering with medical equipment manufacturers and local financial institutions to support healthcare providers across East and West Africa to strengthen the healthcare industry.

It will provide individual loans of between $5 000 and $2-million.

"The programme is an opportunity to increase affordability and access to financing but also access to high-quality medical equipment and care," the organisations said in a statement on May 28.

"Many smaller healthcare businesses in Africa don't have the equipment they need to respond to Covid-19 and deliver other vital services. Unlocking access to finance can save lives now and will, in the long term, strengthen healthcare systems across the continent," said IFC MD Makhtar Diop.

Africa’s smaller healthcare operators often struggle to secure bank loans owing to perceived high investment risks, limiting their ability to buy or lease the medical equipment and other vital health services they need to serve patients across income levels.

The facility includes an advisory services programme to help small healthcare businesses strengthen their medical equipment procurement processes, financial management competencies and business planning.

The advisory programme will also help participating financial institutions strengthen their credit underwriting skills for the healthcare sector.

“We are pleased to join efforts with the IFC and NSIA to create access to financing for small and medium-sized healthcare practitioners in both West and East Africa. GE wants to support our partners in growing the healthcare infrastructure across Africa and improving the standard and quality of care across the continent,” said GE Healthcare Francophone Africa GM Dr Mehdi Ferdjioui.

“This new agreement with the IFC will help us support our healthcare clients to acquire equipment and renew their technical platforms. Through our collaboration with the IFC and the renowned equipment manufacturers involved in the programme, we are taking a further step in contributing to the protection of our people, which is an important pillar of our corporate responsibility,” added NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire CEO Leonce Yace.

The participation of GE Healthcare and NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire further expands the reach of the IFC-led facility, announced in April, that provides risk-sharing facilities to help small and medium-sized businesses access up to $300-million in loans and leases, the partners said.

The facility falls under the IFC's Global Health Platform, which was launched to help developing countries in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and to increase the resilience of countries’ healthcare systems.

It is also supported by the International Development Association Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility and the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents.