Burkinabe tycoon Idrissa Nassa’s Coris Bank Senegal gets $10 million IFC funding

Coris Bank International, the Burkina Faso-based lender founded by Idrissa Nassa, is set to receive up to $10 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for its Senegalese subsidiary, Coris Bank International Senegal (Coris Senegal).

New IFC support empowers Coris Senegal

The unfunded trade finance facility, under the IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program, is designed to help Coris Senegal reduce its reliance on the parent bank and affiliated institutions. It will also support the management’s plan to expand its international trade finance operations.

The move comes as Coris Bank steps up efforts to strengthen its subsidiaries across West Africa. The banking industry in the region is still primarily cash-based, and because of correspondent banks' de-risking policies, institutions have trouble connecting to international financial networks.

Coris Bank’s regional growth under Nassa

Since it was founded in 2008 with just $3 million in capital, Coris Bank under Idrissa Nassa’s leadership has grown into one of West Africa’s fastest-rising financial groups, managing more than $9 billion in assets. The lender now operates in seven countries, including Mali, Togo, Senegal, Benin, Niger, and Guinea-Bissau.

Under Nassa, Coris Bank has expanded steadily across the region. In 2021, it opened Coris Bank Guinea. Two years later, it acquired Standard Chartered’s retail banking business in Côte d’Ivoire, followed in 2024 by the purchase of Société Générale’s operations in Chad. The bank is also reportedly in talks to acquire Société Générale’s Mauritania unit.

Coris Bank expands SME, trade finance

Coris Bank’s ongoing partnerships with international financiers underline its role in regional trade and development finance, positioning it as a leader in West Africa’s banking sector.

In June, the Burkina Faso-based lender secured a €30 million ($34.3 million) senior loan from Proparco, the private sector arm of the French Development Agency, to boost lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in Côte d’Ivoire.

Earlier in April, the group also signed a €7 million ($7.6 million) trade finance partnership with Proparco to help import essential raw materials for local industries in Chad. The initiative aims to close supply gaps and support key sectors vital to the country’s economic recovery.