Special offers on letters of credit (L/Cs) for contractors feature in dfcu Bank's continued efforts to support businesses amidst the numerous challenges presented by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ugandan commercial bank formerly known as the Development Finance Company of Uganda is now also offering unsecured bid bonds of up to 500,000,000 Ugandan shillings (UGX500,000,000 - US$134,000) to support traders and contractors in the management of their working capital and to help them secure contracts.

Contractor support

With many businesses impacted by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, dfcu Bank says contractors that can demonstrate the ability to execute large contracts stand a better chance of being awarded contracts.

Against this background dfcu Bank says it has sought to support contractors through special offers on some of its trade finance solutions including L/Cs, bank guarantees and now unsecured bid bonds.

Unsecured bid bonds

Contractors in road construction, building and civil works, water and electrical installations, consultants and suppliers with contracts in the agricultural sector, security installations and ICT, can now access unsecured bid bonds within 5 hours, with no need for security or payment of arrangement fees according to a dfcu Bank statement.

The bank's head of business banking, Ronald Kasasa, says its trade finance offerings recognise that contractors incur costs before they are paid and need finance for

day-to-day business costs to meet project delivery targets.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.