Women entrepreneurs are to be given financing to open small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania, it has emerged.

The World Bank Group's private sector branch, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has granted a $5 million (£2.57 million) loan to an east African bank to fund the project, the East African reports.

Exim Bank of Tanzania is the first lender in the country to earmark credit lines specifically for businesswomen, the newspaper states.

IFC director for environment and social development Rachel Kyte told the publication: "We aim, with this investment and our advisory service, to bridge the gap between women entrepreneurs who need financing and banks that are looking for new customers."

She said that the loans were intended to benefit society as a whole and encourage the idea that female-run SMEs are financially practical, an attitude backed up by the organisation's research.

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammad Yunus for setting up a micro-loan system for poor female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.