STRENGTHENING THE RESILIENCE OF BUSINESSES IN AFRICA
Microenterprises and SMEs in Africa have been hard hit by the economic consequences of the Covid-19 crisis. They are also exacerbating the problems they already had in accessing financing well before the crisis.
Despite the deterioration in the macroeconomic situation, PROPARCO has stepped up its action to support Africa’s private sector. Since March 2020, PROPARCO has been offering flexible solutions to its existing clients (deferred repayments, additional financing, etc.) to meet their most urgent needs.
Following on from this immediate response and working with our counterpart development banks, AFD Group is increasing its capacity to support businesses and private financial institutions operating in Africa. PROPARCO is adding a new component, Resilience, to the Choose Africa initiative with an additional budget of EUR 1bn. This mechanism comprises tools for loans, guarantees, equity investments and assistance tailored to the crisis situation.
Key figures
EUR 1bn
to support microenterprises/SMEs weakened by the crisisSee and/or download documents
OUR FINANCING AND ASSISTANCE SOLUTIONS
FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO MSMEs
AFD Group is deploying additional financing mechanisms to meet the financing requests of SMEs weakened by the crisis:
- Guarantees to local partner banks (up to 80% of the risk borne by the banks) to encourage them to lend to MSMEs
- Loans to financial institutions to help them meet business needs
- Direct PROPARCO loans to companies
AFD Group will also be strengthening the capital base of companies via funds that support African SMEs.
SUPPORTING THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION SECTOR
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play a crucial role in cushioning the economic and social impact of the crisis on entrepreneurs and the most vulnerable populations. AFD Group is supporting MFIs so that they can continue to lend to their clients via:
- Loans to MFIs or banks operating in the microenterprise segment
- Guarantees to MFIs to cover micro-loans to entrepreneurs, which are particularly vulnerable in times of crisis
- Guarantees to local banks that finance MFIs to meet their liquidity requirements
In addition, equity investments may be considered to strengthen the financial inclusion sector, which has been weakened by the crisis.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
PROPARCO will continue to deploy Technical Assistance (TA) programs for the beneficiary companies and partner institutions of Choose Africa Resilience. They will target their specific needs related to the management of the impacts of this crisis:
- Specific assistance is offered in managing the crisis and adapting business models to this new economic environment. For example, special assistance can be given to financial institutions that want to increase the digitalization of their services, which will give more people access to them.
- TA to support performance can address the need to strengthen the client’s organization or financial and administrative processes, its human resources department, or its market positioning. This technical assistance will in particular be given to players in financial inclusion or SMEs supported by our financial intermediaries.
- Finally, PROPARCO will continue to encourage clients to adopt or strengthen sustainable and inclusive practices, in line with its usual standards for environmental risk management and the promotion of climate co-benefits and gender equality.
OUR LOCAL PARTNERS
Find out about partner funds, financial institutions and incubators close to you, supported by AFD Group.
| wdt_ID | Name of partner | Partner type | Location | what financing/services are available ? | Eligible companies | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name of partner | Partner Type | Location | What financing/services are available? | Eligible companies | https://www.bondinnov.com/ |
| 2 | Bond’innov | Incubator | France,Africa | Support, financing, co-working spaces, networking, etc. | Innovative start-ups/SMEs (health, biotechnology, environment, etc.) | https://www.bondinnov.com/ |
| 3 | Saboutec | Incubator | Guinea | Support, co-working spaces, networking, etc. | Start-ups in the ICT sector | http://www.saboutech.org/ |
| 4 | Cipmen Niger | Incubator | Niger | Support, co-working spaces, networking, etc. | Start-ups | http://www.cipmen.org/ |
| 5 | CTIC Dakar | Incubator | Senegal | Support, guidance, co-working spaces, networking, etc. | Start-ups in the ICT sector | http://cticdakar.com/fr_fr/ |
| 6 | La Fabrique | Incubator | Burkina Faso | Support, co-working spaces, networking, etc. | Social businesses | https://www.lafabrique-bf.com/ |
| 7 | EtriLabs Bénin | Incubator/Accelerator | Benin | Support, co-working spaces, networking, etc. | Start-ups | https://etrilabs.com/ |
| 8 | Innohub Limited | Incubator/Accelerator | Ghana | Support, co-working spaces, networking, etc. | Start-ups | http://www.innohub.com.gh/ |
| 9 | MakeSense - Dakar | Incubator | Senegal | Support, training (design thinking, collective intelligence) | SMEs/start-ups | https://africa.makesense.org/contact/ |
| 10 | NUMA Maroc | Incubator | Morocco | Support, co-working spaces, networking, etc. | Start-ups | https://www.numa.co/acceleration-startup-casablanca |