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On the occasion of the visit of the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Bruno Le Maire, Proparco and the NSIA Group have signed a new partnership to finance Ivorian companies. The Choose Africa Resilience portfolio guarantee granted by Proparco will cover XOF 2,500,000,000 (€3.75M) of loans granted by NSIA BANQUE to entrepreneurs.

NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire is one of the leading financial institutions in Côte d’Ivoire, with recognized expertise in financing agriculture and SMEs. The NSIA Group and AFD Group have had an important partnership dedicated to the development of the private sector in Côte d’Ivoire since 2012.

The portfolio guarantee granted today by Proparco will enable NSIA BANQUE to offer loans 80% guaranteed by AFD Group to Ivorian small and medium-sized enterprises weakened by the crisis. NSIA BANQUE is the second financial institution to deploy this exceptional guarantee in Côte d’Ivoire.

After the bank has reviewed financing requests, companies with fewer than 200 employees affected by the crisis may be able to receive loans of 12 to 48 months. 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.

AFD Group and NSIA Group have been working together for almost 10 years to improve access to financing for Ivorian small and medium-sized enterprises. This relationship of trust between our two institutions now allows us to deploy the Choose Africa Resilience guarantee, a new tool developed specifically to meet the needs of MSMEs affected by the crisis.“said Fatoumata SISSOKO-SY, Proparco’s Regional Director for West Africa.

SMEs are the least resilient enterprises in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. They must, therefore, benefit from reinforced support. We are pleased and honoured to be the second bank to deploy the Choose Africa Resilience portfolio guarantee. This tool completes NSIA Banque’s support for the most vulnerable SMEs,” said Jean Kacou Diagou, President of the NSIA Group.