After the granting of a portfolio guarantee in May 2019, Proparco renews its support to SIPEM BANQUE MADAGASCAR with a guarantee of 9.2 billion ariary (2 million euros). Set up thanks to the resources made available by the French government, this Choose Africa Resilience ARIZ for SMEs guarantee will allow SIPEM to continue supporting micro-entrepreneurs and very small businesses in the context of a global pandemic.
The Covid-19 crisis is impacting SMEs in general, and more particularly micro businesses and very small businesses. It therefore appears critical to support microfinance institutions so that they can continue to irrigate the economic fabric.
Created in 1990 by the International Solidarity for Development and Investment (SIDI, a French international NGO) and the Association for the Promotion of Enterprise in Madagascar (APEM, an offshoot of the Groupement des Entreprises à Madagascar or GEM), SIPEM BANQUE is a pioneer in the Microfinance Sector in Madagascar.
Through its action, it contributes significantly to the development of financial inclusion, in urban and rural areas.
The guarantee of 2 million euros issued by Proparco to SIPEM BANQUE will thus make it possible to cover the urgent liquidity needs of Malagasy micro-enterprises and VSEs. This guarantee was made possible thanks to the resources made available to AFD Group by the French Government as part of the Choose Africa Resilience initiative. This initiative, which aims to support VSEs / SMEs in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic on the African continent.
The guarantee granted today by Proparco will more specifically:
- Support and accompany clients in their growth dynamic. About 60 people or microenterprises will have access to microfinance products and services.
- Create jobs. The secured loans will support the creation or maintenance of nearly 180 jobs in the country.
- Contribute to SDGs 1 (Eradicate poverty in all its forms and everywhere), 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and 10 (reduced inequalities).
“Despite the difficult context of the health crisis, SIPEM Bank always puts its customers at the heart of its priority. As part of its mission to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, it has implemented measures aimed at absorbing shocks with its customers and limiting breakages by reducing the impact on their cash flow and volume. activities. These measures are facilitated by the risk coverage mechanisms put in place through the partnership with PROPARCO and which has just been strengthened through the Choose Africa Resilience program” declared Brillant Rakotoarison, Managing Director of SPIEM Bank.
“Proparco is proud to strengthen its partnership with SIPEM Banque, a key player in financial inclusion on the Big Island, and even more so in a context of a pandemic which weakens microenterprises and very small businesses” declared Xavier Echasseriau, deputy head of Financial Institutions and Inclusion division of Proparco.