Proparco’s Choose Africa Resilience guarantee will cover BICIS’ lending of XOF 1,250,000,000 to Senegalese small and medium-sized enterprises.
Since the beginning of their collaboration in 2005, Proparco and BICIS have gradually strengthened their partnership to support a growing number of MSMEs. This historic relationship makes BICIS one of the main beneficiaries of the risk sharing mechanisms deployed by AFD Group.
The new portfolio guarantee granted today by Proparco will enable BICIS to offer loans that are 80% guaranteed by AFD Group to Senegalese small and medium-sized enterprises weakened by the crisis. BICIS is the third financial institution to deploy this exceptional guarantee in Senegal.
After BICIS has examined the financing requests, companies with fewer than 200 employees and affected by the crisis will be able to receive 12 to 48 month loans. These loans can represent up to 3 months of the turnover of the year 2019.
This loan offer, 80% guaranteed by AFD Group, is part of the new Resilience component of the French Choose Africa initiative and has been made possible thanks to the support of the French government. Launched in November 2020 in response to the crisis, this €1 billion Resilience component brings the Choose Africa initiative to €3.5 billion to support start-ups, VSEs and SMEs in Africa.
“The launch of the Choose Africa initiative in 2018 has enabled AFD Group to strengthen its network of partners highly committed to financing MSMEs in Africa. The quality of our relationship with BICIS now allows us to provide tailored and specific support to the needs of small businesses that have been severely affected by the crisis” said Pierre MASPOLI, who is in charge of Proparco’s Dakar office.
“Our partnership with AFD is historic and multi-faceted. This portfolio guarantee that we are signing today allows us to develop our investment ambitions with adequate coverage for the SME market, for which it is intended“, noted Mr Bernard LEVIE.