CBL Launches Enhanced Credit Platform to Boost Business Lending

By Stephen G. Fellajuah

MONROVIA, Liberia, August 28, 2026 — The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has launched an Enhanced Collateral Registry System aimed at expanding access to credit by allowing businesses and individuals to use a wider range of assets as security for loans.

The new system is expected to strengthen secured lending and improve financing opportunities for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), farmers, women-owned businesses, young entrepreneurs and other borrowers who may lack traditional forms of collateral.

The platform was launched Thursday, August 27, at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town under the theme, “Strengthening Secure Lending and Responsible Borrowing.”

Developed under the Liberia Investment Finance and Trade Project (LIFT-P), with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the initiative is intended to modernize Liberia’s collateral registration framework and strengthen the country’s credit infrastructure.

The Liberia Collateral Registry was established by the CBL in 2014 to operationalize Chapter 5 of Liberia’s Commercial Code of 2010, which provides the legal framework for secured transactions.

The registry enables lenders to register security interests in assets pledged by borrowers and search for existing claims against those assets.

CBL Executive Governor Henry F. Saamoi described the enhanced registry as more than a digital platform, saying it represents another step toward building a modern and inclusive financial system.

“The Enhanced Collateral Registry System strengthens the foundation of secure lending, promotes responsible borrowing, and expands economic opportunity for Liberians across all sectors of our economy,” Saamoi said.

According to the CBL, the enhanced platform introduces expanded collateral coverage, cloud-based operations, improved search capabilities and records management.

It also has the potential to integrate with other national databases to improve verification of borrowers, assets and existing claims.

The system is designed to enable financial institutions to electronically register, amend, assign, discharge and search security interests through a unified digital platform.

Under the expanded framework, both movable and immovable assets can be registered, subject to applicable legal requirements.

These may include land, buildings, leasehold interests, mortgages and other productive assets that can be legally pledged to secure financing.

The CBL said the registry is also designed to interoperate with databases maintained by institutions including the National Identification Registry, Liberia Land Authority, Liberia Business Registry and the country’s vehicle registration system.

Saamoi said linking those databases could improve verification of identity and asset ownership while helping lenders determine whether assets already have claims against them.

Such information, he said, could reduce risks for financial institutions while improving the lending process for borrowers.

Saamoi said the reform could have a significant impact on MSMEs and individuals who own productive assets but struggle to meet conventional collateral requirements imposed by financial institutions.

“For too long, many small Liberian businesses, women-owned enterprises, young entrepreneurs, farmers, and rural producers often lacked access to traditional financing despite owning productive assets,” he said.

The governor said improving the ability of businesses to convert those assets into acceptable collateral could help expand credit, support business growth and create employment.

He pointed to results from LIFT-P as an indication of the demand for business financing across Liberia.

Under the project, the government and its partners established a US$6 million line of credit targeting MSMEs.

Saamoi said the entire US$6 million had been deployed through seven participating financial institutions by the end of the second quarter of 2026, benefiting 358 MSMEs across the country.

Some businesses received financing of up to approximately US$100,000, while women-owned enterprises accounted for 64 percent of the loan disbursements, according to the CBL governor.

He said 130 of the 358 beneficiary businesses were located outside Montserrado County, demonstrating the program’s reach beyond Monrovia.

“These outcomes reveal an important truth: Liberian entrepreneurs do not lack ambition, innovation or determination,” Saamoi said.

He encouraged businesses to formalize their operations and position themselves to capitalize on financing opportunities arising from ongoing reforms in the financial sector.

The CBL governor said the Enhanced Collateral Registry forms part of the Central Bank’s broader effort to modernize and digitize Liberia’s financial system while expanding access to finance.

The launch brought together representatives of the Judiciary, Legislature, government ministries and agencies, commercial banks, microfinance institutions, business organizations and international development partners.