2021 Results : €2.3 billion in commitments to strengthen the private sector's contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
published on 30 May 2022
In 2021, for the third consecutive year, Proparco has deployed more than €2 billion in annual commitments. Last year, Proparco's priority was to continue to support its clients to limit the impact of the health, social and economic crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic while contributing to the long-term structural needs of its intervention areas. Through its financing, Proparco is committed to entrepreneurs, companies and financial institutions working in sectors with a high impact on development such as renewable energy, microfinance and health in order to support job creation, gender equality and access to essential goods and services.
In 2021, Proparco has committed €2.3 billion, including
- €1.2bn in Africa, AFD Group's geographical priority
- €928M in fragile countries and LDCs[1]
- €668M for climate co-benefit projects
- €860M for entrepreneurship and African SMEs
- €368M for projects qualifying for the 2X Challenge, a global initiative to promote women's economic empowerment and reduce gender inequality
For Françoise Lombard, Proparco's CEO, "these results confirm our ability to adapt and react. After a year 2020 marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, we continued our mission: to support the private sector's ability to create jobs and positive development impacts with our partners and clients."
PROJECTS WITH POSITIVE IMPACTS
In 2021, Proparco has signed 284 new projects contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals[2]:
- 1,952,000 tons of CO2eq avoided per year, over the life of the projects
- 1.4 million jobs supported within 5 years
- Improved access to an essential service or good for 9 million people within 5 years, including:
- access to renewable energy for 3.1 million people
- access to transportation for 151,000 people
- access to health services for 566,000 people
- access to micro-credit for 698,000 people
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Supporting entrepreneurs in Africa with Choose Africa and its "Resilience" component
With the Choose Africa initiative, AFD Group has been mobilizing since 2018 to support start-ups, VSEs and SMEs in Africa, the real pillars of the continent's economy. In 2020, its target has been raised to €3.5 billion, after integrating a "Resilience" component launched in response to the Covid-19 crisis. By the end of 2021, the balance sheet is positive, with €3 billion in financing already committed to African VSEs/SMEs, including €780 million under the "Resilience" component.
Among these projects, Proparco has granted financing to companies operating in sectors with a high development impact:
- In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Proparco invested €1 million in the company Nuru, which is developing hybrid solar mini-grids to provide access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity to 67,000 people, 30 schools and health centers, and 85 VSEs, within 5 years.
- In Vietnam, by granting a $12 million loan to the textile company Leading Star, Proparco is supporting the growth of a company committed to an ambitious internal policy in favor of women. The project will support more than 2,500 direct jobs, 80% of which are held by women, and includes a training component for female employees on specific health issues (contraception, lifestyle, maternity, etc.).
- In South Africa, together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Proparco granted a 15 million euro loan to Cerba Lancet Africa, the leading pan-African medical biology company. The project will strengthen the diagnostic capacities of African countries in the face of the Covid-19 crisis by modernizing and developing new laboratories on the continent, with priority given to the most fragile countries. As a result, 500,000 additional patients will be served within five years.
- In Madagascar, the Kimony Group received a 440,000 euro loan, guaranteed by AFD Group, for its hotel "L'Olympe de Bemaraha". The company is committed to the development of the Menabe region where its hotels are located, on the environmental level (reforestation in the villages to preserve the flora and raising the population's awareness), on the socio-educational level (professional integration of people with reduced mobility, distribution of school kits, support for the development of sports activities for young people), and on the cultural level (support for local cultural events, promotion of Menabe culture in its establishments).
Discover the Key Figures 2021 brochure which presents the main results of Proparco
