Banco Nacional de Angola and AFRACA discuss the exchange programme, collateral registries and guarantees
The Banco Nacional de Angola met the AFRACA Secretariat in Nairobi on 18 September 2026, the closing day of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the Association of African Central Banks, hosted by the Central Bank of Kenya during its sixtieth anniversary week. Ms. Ngo B. Anny Caroll, Secretary General of the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association, received the Deputy Manager and delegation at the Secretariat's offices at the CBK Institute of Monetary Studies.
The discussion covered institutional cooperation, financial inclusion, knowledge exchange, and access to finance for rural and productive sectors. The delegation's interest centred on the Multi-Country Exchange Programme, the research on collateral registries and the Agricultural Guarantee Scheme.
The Multi-Country Exchange Programme
AFRACA's Multi-Country Exchange Programme runs from 2 to 6 November 2026 across Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, taking practitioners from member institutions into each other's markets for a working week. The Bank's interest was in taking part in future rounds of the programme.
Collateral registry research
The Secretary General presented AFRACA's planned research on movable collateral registries. Collateral constraints remain a major barrier for farmers, SMEs and rural enterprises that lack land or other conventional security. The research will compare the status, use and effectiveness of registries across African markets, covering:
- Legal frameworks and enforcement
- Registration costs and eligible asset types
- Lender awareness
- Actual impact on lending
The findings are intended to support policy recommendations, peer learning and practical improvements in agricultural and SME finance.
The Agricultural Guarantee Scheme
Guarantees absorb part of the credit risk, so that lenders can finance viable agricultural borrowers who lack conventional security. Potential target groups include smallholder farmers, agricultural SMEs, youth and women, and value chain enterprises and climate-smart investments. A scheme builds on the national guarantee mechanisms a country already has; AFRACA's role is to facilitate dialogue among the central bank, development banks, guarantee institutions, commercial lenders and development partners, and to identify where regional partnership or scale would add value. The Agricultural Guarantee Mechanism is among AFRACA's 2026 initiatives.
Follow-up
The meeting closed on the four steps proposed to each central bank: a focal point at the bank; one priority where collaboration can begin; the national institutions to connect with AFRACA; and a practical next step.
AFRACA thanks the Deputy Manager and the Banco Nacional de Angola delegation for giving time to the Secretariat on the final day of the Annual Meetings.
AFRACA was established in 1977 under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization and brings together more than 85 member institutions in 30 African countries.