Proparco and Société Générale Senegal strengthen their commitment to Senegalese MSMEs
published on 12 February 2021
The partnership signed today involves the granting by Proparco of two portfolio guarantees to Société Générale Senegal for a total of 4.5 million euros (nearly 3 billion FCFA). The risk-sharing scheme proposed by Proparco will enable the bank to step up its SME financing activity.
The guarantees offered by the AFD Group via its subsidiary Proparco enable partner banks to share the risk of financing very small, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), thus increasing their capacity to finance the economy. Proparco's risk-sharing mechanism is an effective instrument for encouraging investment and job creation in many sectors of activity (agriculture, health, industry, microfinance, transport, etc.). This key financial intermediation tool is particularly well suited to the specific features of the Senegalese economy.
The ARIZ and EURIZ guarantees are two emblematic tools in the AFD Group's guarantee offer. Granted to Société Générale Sénégal, they amount to a total of 4.5 million euros.
The ARIZ portfolio guarantee, the fourth program of this type between AFD Group and Société Générale Sénégal, for an amount of 3 million euros, confirms Société Générale's status as ARIZ's first partner bank in Senegal. Since 2005, Société Générale Senegal has supported more than 250 MSMEs through this program.
The second portfolio guarantee, EURIZ, is for an amount of EUR 1.5 million. Launched in May 2019 with the support of the European Union and the European Development Fund, and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), the EURIZ guarantee aims to facilitate access to credit for SMEs, particularly in sectors with a high development impact, in order to help them play their essential role in economic growth and job creation.
Ms. Irène Mingasson, EU Ambassador to Senegal said "the EURIZ guarantee shows once again the European global response to the crisis. It echoes Team Europe's unanimous commitment to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in Africa, and in Senegal in particular. It reflects the European Union's ongoing commitment to support the development of a strong and dynamic private sector in Senegal, which will bring inclusive and sustainable growth. EURIZ will support Senegal's small and medium-sized enterprises in order to preserve employment and to set in motion the next stage: that of recovery, optimism and hope. »
"These new operations are part of the AFD Group's reinforced commitment to African small and medium enterprises in response to the crisis. Our association with Société Générale Senegal and the support of the European Union and the ACP Group of States enable us to provide a targeted response to the financing difficulties encountered by entrepreneurs in order to preserve their ability to contribute to Senegal's growth and development" said Pierre Maspoli, in charge of the Proparco antenna in Dakar.
"Societe Generale is the first financial institution to deploy an exceptional financing guarantee on the African continent, in partnership with AFD-Proparco. In line with the strategic objectives of the "Grow with Africa" program, Societe Generale Senegal reaffirms its position as the leading financier of the Senegalese economy. We are thus strengthening our position through the support and assistance we provide to our MSME clients, who are particularly vulnerable due to the health crisis. "Jean-Marc Mancel, Chief Executive Officer of Société Générale Senegal.
The granting of these guarantees, in line with the PAP2A, is part of the Resilience component of the Choose Africa initiative. This new €1 billion component deployed in response to the covid-19 crisis brings France's commitment to start-ups and MSMEs in Africa to €3.5 billion over the period 2018-2022.
