Stanbic Bank Ghana, working together with its parent institution, Standard Bank of South Africa, has completed a major financial arrangement that is set to strengthen one of Ghana’s most influential indigenous businesses.

The two banks have secured a US$205 million senior secured term loan and revolving credit facility for Engineers & Planners Company Limited (E&P), the mining contracting firm founded by Ghanaian entrepreneur Ibrahim Mahama, younger brother of Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama.

The deal represents one of the largest financing packages arranged for a locally owned mining services company in the country.

The facility, which matures in five years and is divided into tranches of US$110 million and US$95 million, brought in two additional major lenders, Ecobank Ghana and Absa Bank Ghana, creating a consortium of banks deeply involved in West Africa’s corporate sector.

Most of the capital will be directed toward E&P’s long-term contract mining operations with Gold Fields Ghana, whose operations include the Tarkwa Mine and Damang Mine, two of Ghana’s most important gold-producing assets.

The financing will enable E&P to upgrade heavy machinery, expand its capacity for hard-rock extraction and reinforce operational efficiency at a scale that meets global mining standards.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Accra, Stanbic Bank Ghana’s Chief Executive, Kwamina Asomaning, stressed the depth of the partnership between the bank and E&P.

“Our relationship with E&P spans more than two decades, built on trust and shared ambition,” he said. “By structuring and mobilising the USD205 million facility, we are not only enabling Engineers & Planners to scale its operations but also reinforcing Stanbic Bank’s role as a long-term partner in advancing localisation, strengthening Ghana’s mining value chain, and driving sustainable growth across the broader economy.”

His remarks shows the role financial institutions are increasingly playing in helping Ghanaian-owned companies compete with global operators.

For E&P founder and CEO Ibrahim Mahama, the agreement marks a significant step in the company’s expansion.

From its origins in 1997 as a mining services start-up, E&P has grown into the largest indigenous contract miner in West Africa, employing more than 4,000 people and operating in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“The partnership between E&P and Stanbic Bank has been a longstanding fruitful relationship, and this facility marks an important milestone in our growth journey as a proudly Ghanaian company,” he said. “It strengthens our capacity to deliver on large-scale mining contracts to the highest global standards, while deepening local participation in the sector.”

The timing of the deal aligns with Ghana’s renewed economic emphasis on mining. In 2024, the broader mining and manufacturing sector contributed around 31 percent of national GDP, with strong year-on-year growth.

Since returning to office in January 2025, President Mahama has placed the extractive sector at the centre of his economic agenda, viewing it as a vital driver of foreign exchange earnings and fiscal recovery.

Strengthening companies like E&P fits into wider government efforts to expand legitimate large-scale mining while tightening regulation of illegal small-scale operations that have caused environmental damage across forest reserves and river bodies.

Beyond the direct operational benefits, the facility is expected to generate wider economic effects.

By securing funding for E&P’s largest contracts, the deal supports thousands of jobs, boosts local procurement across the mining supply chain and contributes to higher foreign exchange inflows from gold exports.

The confidence shown by the participating banks also sends a signal to global markets that well-run African-owned operators are bankable at scale.

With this latest arrangement, total financing structured by Stanbic Bank Ghana and Standard Bank for E&P now exceeds US$450 million, reflecting a long-term relationship that has evolved alongside the company’s expansion into sectors including Dzata Cement and Man Bosch Ghana. Yet mining remains E&P’s core business, and this new facility reinforces its position at the heart of Ghana’s extractive industry. (Business Insider Africa)

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