Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, August 23, 2016
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group has entered into a risk-sharing agreement with Crédit du Congo, a subsidiary of the Attijariwafa Bank Group. IFC and Crédit du Congo will share risks on a portfolio of up to XAF10 billion (approximately $17.5 million equivalent) to finance small and medium-sized enterprises as part of the local content supply program developed by the Total Group in the Republic of Congo.
This risk-sharing facility is expected to reach women, agricultural, and climate-related SMEs. It is offered by IFC under a Global SME Finance Facility and will enable Credit du Congo provide financing to selected locally-owned suppliers of TEPC thereby enhancing their ability to participate as suppliers in Total’s Moho North oil development project.
TEPC Managing Director Pierre Jessua said: “Often, working on our plants or those of other large corporations requires minimum infrastructure and equipment. The risk-sharing facility will improve access to adequate equipment to deliver services in a safe, timely and cost effective way”.
According to Crédit du Congo’s CEO Mohammed Mejbar: “Crédit du Congo is determined to contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development through growth of smaller businesses. This partnership provides an effective way for us to achieve our goal very efficiently”.
Launched in April 2012 in response to a call from the G-20 to bridge the trillion dollar SME financing gap, the Global SME Finance Facility is a blended finance vehicle that integrates investment and advice to help banks reach more entrepreneurs and growing businesses. The facility provides products unavailable elsewhere by mobilizing funding from donors, international finance institutions and the private sector, to help banks de-risk and scale up SME lending. The facility targets SMEs that don’t have access to finance, including women-owned SMEs, agriculture and climate-related businesses and those in fragile states.
IFC Manager for Central Africa Mehita Sylla added: “Access to finance for SMEs is a major concern in the Republic of Congo, where banks reach only half as many clients as other countries in the region. This partnership between IFC, the Total Group and Crédit du Congo will expand financing available to selected SMEs.”
IFC’s Global SME Finance Facility has a wide geographic coverage across the world’s low-income countries. It has already committed to 92 projects in 27 countries, 15 of which are classified as fragile and conflict affected states. By the end of December 2015, the facility had facilitated more than 100,000 SME loans, worth a total of $6.4 billion. The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) is the facility’s first partner, providing support of $120 million that contributes to the advisory services and blended finance offered. IFC has committed $595 million to projects under the facility.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our six decades of experience to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY16, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion, leveraging our capital, expertise and influence to help the private sector end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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