Issue 1 - SME financing in Sub-Saharan Africa

Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) at Oxford University. He is also associate professor at the Center for Studies and Research in International Development (CERDI) at the University of Auvergne, and at Paris 1 University. He is the author of The Bottom Billion, which in 2008 won the Lionel Gelber, Arthur Ross and Corine Prizes. His latest book, Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places, was published in March 2009. >> Read Paul Collier's paper "Rethinking finance for Africa's small firms"

Paul Derreumaux graduated from Sciences Po, the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and began his career at Lille University before leaving for Côte d’Ivoire where he was Advisor to the Ministry of Planning for three years and, subsequently, Advisor to the Cabinet of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Planning.
He began developing the BOA network in 1982, first in Mali, then in Benin. >> Download Paul Derreumaux's paper

Patrice Hoppenot graduated from the Mines de Paris executive engineering school as a civil engineer and was awarded an MBA from the University of Chicago. He spent the first part of his career in the industry. In 1988, he founded the European private equity fund BC Partners which went on to become one of the major independent financial investors in Europe specialized in LBO operations. In 2001, he set up Investisseur & Partenaire pour le Développement (I&P), an investment company dedicated to promoting entrepreneurs in Africa and investing in SMEs and microfinance institutions. I&P is today present in over ten African countries. Patrice Hoppenot also serves on the boards of several companies listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. >> Download Patrice Hoppenot's paper

Julien Lefilleur graduated as an engineer from the École Centrale de Paris and obtained a PhD in economics at the Sorbonne University (Paris 1). He is an investment officer at Proparco where he is specialized in Sub-Saharan African financial systems. He is also an associate researcher at the Development and Globalization research center at the Sorbonne University. >> Download Julien Lefilleur's paper

Emilio Sacerdoti graduated from Bocconi University in 1969 and obtained a PhD at Yale University. He was formerly an economist at Banca d’Italia, assistant to the Italian Executive Director at the IMF, economist and senior economist at the IMF and finally division chief and advisor in various IMF Departments. Since 1988, Emilio Sacerdoti has been mission chief to numerous African and Middle Eastern countries and, more recently, mission chief to Madagascar, Gabon, Tunisia, and Niger. >> Download Emilio Sacerdoti's paper

Maria Soledad Martinez Peria is a Senior Economist in the Finance and Private Sector Development Team of the Development Economics Research Group at the World Bank. Her published work has focused on banking systems and access to finance in developing countries. She is currently conducting research on bank financing to SMEs, the impact of migrant remittances and the consequences of the recent financial crisis. Prior to joining the World Bank, Ms Martinez Peria worked at the Brookings Institution, the Central Bank of Argentina, the Federal Reserve Board, and the IMF. She holds a PhD in economics fromthe University of Berkeley and a BA from Stanford University. >> Download Maria Soledad Martinez Peria's paper

 Admassu Tadesse is Executive Vice-President of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) which is based in Johannesburg. He has worked all over Africa for the past 15 years, particularly in Southern Africa. Admassu Tadesse serves on a number of boards, notably the SADC DFRC Board of Trustees (Deputy Chairman), Proparco, AFD’s FISEA Fund, the World Economic Forum’s EPA Initiative, and GAIN Africa - a joint initiative of the Bill-and-Melinda-Gates Foundation, the World Bank and the UN. He is an economist, banker and expert in international development finance. >> Download Admassu Tadesse's paper