In Tunisia, in a difficult macroeconomic context exacerbated by the health crisis, Proparco is supporting the development of ATL

Arab Tunisian Lease (ATL) is a longstanding player in the Tunisian leasing sector. It was set up in 1993 at the initiative of Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB), the Tunisian subsidiary of Arab Bank Group, and the public bank Banque Nationale Agricole (BNA). ATL went public in 1997 and has since experienced strong growth in its activity, making it the 3rd largest operator out of the 7 listed in the sector. The company has a financial leasing activity, mainly in the trade, services, construction, industry and agriculture sectors.

ATL operates nationwide with a network of 11 branches in large cities in the country. 

The operation involves a EUR 15m credit line made available to ATL by Proparco. It is intended to develop its leasing portfolio in a difficult macroeconomic context in Tunisia, which is exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. It is also allowing the institution to diversify its sources of finance.

This project benefits from support from the European Union EFSD guarantee.

This project should support over 29,000 indirect jobs over the next 5 years related to the companies which may benefit from Proparco’s financing (a total of some 450 companies, including some 300 SMEs and 100 microenterprises). It should be noted that as these players are mainly located in rural regions in Tunisia, with very limited access to banking services, ATL will contribute to increasing their financial inclusion. The project will therefore contribute to SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth” and, to a lesser extent, SDG 9 “Industry, innovation and infrastructure” by supporting the development of the contribution of the industrial sector to Tunisian GDP.