The portfolio guarantee granted by Proparco, which will be of a maximum amount of 3.5 million Euros (2 300 000 000 XOF), will enable BICIS to further strengthen its support to the economic development of Senegal.
The ARIZ guarantee, a financial instrument set up by AFD and Proparco, is a risk-sharing tool offered to financial institutions to enable them to develop their activity towards MSMEs. ARIZ is an effective instrument intended to encourage investment and job creation in many sectors (agriculture, health, industry, microfinance, transport, etc.). This key financial intermediation tool is particularly well suited to the specific features of the Senegalese economy.
Since 2005, BICIS, which has been one of the main beneficiaries of the ARIZ guarantee in Senegal, has supported nearly 400 MSMEs through this mechanism. This operation is the 5th portfolio guarantee program between the AFD Group and BICIS.
Bernard Levie, Managing Director of BICIS, welcomed this financing, which will increase BICIS’ capacity to support entrepreneurs and MSMEs in Senegal. “Our partnership with AFD is historic and multifaceted. The portfolio guarantee we are signing today is in its fifth renewal. This shows its relevance, in relation to the SME market, for which it is intended. »
This partnership between BICIS and Proparco, in phase with the PAP2A, is part of the French initiative Choose Africa. Proparco’s Regional Director, Fatoumata Sissoko-Sy, stated that “the Choose Africa initiative, launched by the AFD Group in 2019, now aims to devote 3.5 billion euros to financing and supporting start-ups and MSMEs on the African continent by the end of 2022. AFD Group and its partners on the continent are resolutely committed to supporting the continent’s entrepreneurs and strengthening their access to financing, particularly in the current crisis context”.