Sierra Leone, Sept. 25 -- To help address financing gaps, strengthen private sector growth, and promote inclusive economic development in Sierra Leone, IFC today announced a partnership with Access Bank (Sierra Leone) Ltd (ABSL) to increase access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country, particularly those owned and led by women.Under the partnership, IFC will provide ABSL an unfunded risk-sharing facility of up to $10 million in local currency equivalent Sierra Leonean Leones, which is expected to support up to $20 million equivalent in new SME loans. ABSL will direct at least 25 percent of the financing to women-owned SMEs as part of its strategy to more than double their share in ABSL's SME portfolio to ov...