Société de Microcrédits Congolais

April 2026

BIO has granted a USD 5 M loan to SMICO, a microfinance institution in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Amount

$ 5,000,000.00

Development impacts

Local economic growth
Financial inclusion
Promotion of ESG best practices
Gender

Beneficiary locations

Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo

Activity

KK.64.191 Microfinance institution

Organisation

Société de Microcrédits Congolais

Website

https://www.smico.net/

Domicile

DRC

SMICO is a MFI active in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The institution was founded in 2009 by a group of Congolese and Belgian bankers to provide loans to microentrepreneurs and small enterprises in urban and suburban areas. The organisation is registered as a deposit-taking institution and supervised by the Central Bank of Congo (BCC). SMICO operates in 7 provinces of the DRC, has over 74k clients (32% of women) and plans to reach 113k clients by 2027.

BIO is the first Development Finance Institution (DFI) to invest in SMICO. BIO's investment is providing a crucial and long-term funding source to support the institution's growth. Due to the country and regional risk in eastern DRC, the loan will be covered by the MSME platform guarantee, a European 80M EUR guarantee managed by EDFI MC designed to de-risk investments in high risk countries in sub Saharan Africa and to boost the capacity of local financial intermediaries in these countries to lend to underserved segments. This guarantee enables BIO to offer a larger amount to the MFI, as the guarantee will partially cover the risk.

Development impacts

Local economic growth
Expanding access to credit, basic insurance, and non-financial services (such as financial literacy) for micro-enterprises and small enterprises to enhance business performance and improve livelihoods.
Financial inclusion
Enhancing access to adequate financing for un(der)served and/or unbanked entrepreneurs i.e. 74k clients, low average loan size (~USD 5k), small loans, 32% to women, 40% to groups while offering a financial education program to groups and women.
Promotion of ESG best practices
Supporting an MFI with good ESG practices actions in place: a dedicated E&S committee, exclusion lists, intentionality and commitment to the CP pathway.
Gender
2X aligned since meeting the criteria: Leadership (43% share of women in the Board), Employment (currently 38% of employees are women, SMICO commits to reach 40% by 2027), and Portfolio (currently 32% women borrowers and explicit commitment to reach 51% by 2027). Strong intentionality and willingness to qualify for the 2X Challenge (accountability to 2X Global commitment).