Equity BCDC sharply increased its exposure to the agricultural sector in 2025. According to data published in its Pillar III report as of Dec. 31, 2025, the bank's gross agricultural loan portfolio reached 172.9 billion Congolese francs, equivalent to about $79.3 million at the average exchange rate for the year.

A year earlier, the portfolio stood at 23.98 billion Congolese francs, or roughly $8.4 million at the average 2024 exchange rate. In local currency terms, the agricultural loan book expanded by 621% year-on-year. In dollar terms, its volume increased nearly tenfold.

The growth also increased agriculture's share of the bank's overall lending portfolio. The sector accounted for 3.08% of total gross loans at the end of 2025, compared with 0.38% a year earlier.

Agricultural partnerships

The expansion comes as part of a broader strategy to develop agricultural financing, supported by several partnerships highlighted by the bank in its annual report.

Among them is a program conducted with Glencore's Congolese subsidiaries, Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) and Mutanda Mining (MUMI). According to Equity BCDC, the initiative mobilized a total of $396,000 in financing for market gardeners, fish farmers and maize producers, combining technical support, financial education and market access.

The bank also highlighted its involvement in a program financed by the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) and implemented with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. According to the bank, the initiative helped build the capacity of 26 producer alliances comprising 7,437 farmers in the Kwilu and Tshopo provinces, while helping open 1,200 new bank accounts.

Another initiative highlighted by the bank is the Women THRIVE program, developed with Opportunity International. According to the bank, the project enabled 4,795 women to gain access to formal financial services, disbursed $4.9 million in loans and provided training to 525 beneficiaries.

Overall, Equity BCDC said its Agriculture and Food program supported 23,535 farmers in 2025, including 9,414 women.

Non-performing loans

The growth of the agricultural portfolio was accompanied by a marked deterioration in asset quality. Net non-performing agricultural loans rose to 111.29 billion Congolese francs at the end of 2025 from 1.65 billion Congolese francs a year earlier. Over the same period, provisions set aside for the agricultural portfolio increased to 5.11 billion Congolese francs from 1.02 billion Congolese francs.

Relative to the amount of non-performing agricultural loans, total provisions represented about 61.8% of the exposure at the end of 2024, compared with 4.6% at the end of 2025. These ratios should be interpreted with caution, however, as prudential reports alone do not make it possible to determine the full range of risk coverage mechanisms applied by the bank across individual portfolio segments.

The trend highlights the challenges that continue to accompany agricultural financing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite its growth potential, the sector remains exposed to numerous risks, including climate-related shocks, difficulties in accessing markets, weak insurance mechanisms and the still-limited level of organization among some producers.

The figures published by Equity BCDC therefore reflect both a significant expansion of agricultural lending within the bank and the constraints facing financial institutions seeking to increase their presence in the sector.

Timothée Manoke