Following a comprehensive institutional STRESS TEST and an in‐depth Due Diligence of several financial institutions in Sierra Leone undertaken by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) during the course of 2010, Union Trust Bank Limited, among other banks, was invited to submit both Technical and Financial Proposals for the management of a US$3.0 million Kuwait Goodwill Grant to the Republic of Sierra Leone. Union Trust Bank Limited was ultimately selected as Manager of the Fund.

The Fund Management Agreement between the Government, the Kuwait Fund and Union Trust Bank Limited, signed on 8th June, 2011 has since been given Executive Clearance by His Excellency the President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, followed by Parliamentary Ratification on 5th July 2011.

The Goodwill Fund constitutes a pool of resources established by the State of Kuwait in order to assist friendly countries in their endeavours to achieve food security and related activities. The Goodwill Fund is managed by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). The main features of the Fund include:

• Management through sound and creditable national financial institutions;
• Projects and programs to be selected and funded on purely sound feasibility and commercial criteria.
• Target businesses and enterprises must be commercially viable and be sustainable as going concerns; and
• Reporting and accountability responsibilities of fund managers must be on quarterly management   reports and annual audited accounts acceptable to the Kuwait Fund and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

Also recently, based on the public call for an Expression of Interest followed by the submission of both Technical and Financial Proposals, Union Trust Bank Limited was selected, from among other competitors, to manage the US$1.4 million micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) component of the Sierra Leone Community Driven Development Project (SLCDDP) funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) under the auspices of the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA).
Union Trust Bank Limited clearly submitted superior technical and financial proposals to win the bid.

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