Governance

The governance of Proparco is based on structures that guarantee the transparency of its operation as well as its good management.
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Une salle de classe
Under the direction of Françoise LOMBARD, the General management prepares and proposes the company’s strategy, while supervising the fulfilment of the assigned objectives.

The Board of directors, chaired by Rémy RIOUX (Chief executive officer of the Agence Française de Développement), determines Proparco’s main strategic orientations and ensures their implementation.

The General management

The General management develops the company’s main orientations and supervises the operational implementation of the strategy determined by the Board of directors.

The General management includes the Chief executive officer and a Deputy Director.

The General Management is composed of a Director General and a Deputy Director
The General management is surrounded by an executive team that provides it with specialised technical support in each area of expertise.

The General management also relies on various internal committees in charge of studying opportunities for collaboration and partnerships that will promote the development of the private sector within Proparco’s sphere (in particular the Identification committee, the Project committee, the Commitment committee and the Disposals committee).

Proparco also has specialised internal committees that work with the general management and the executive teams with regard to identifying, measuring, managing and controlling risks, in order to ensure that the level of risks is suitable for its activities (in particular: the Internal counterparty risks committee, the Internal control committee, the Compliance committee and the Balance sheet management committee).

In its capacity as a financing company, Proparco has organised a risk management function that supervises the risks and reports to the General management.

Board of Directors

REMARKABLE GOVERNANCE
As the guarantor of the transparency of its operation and good management, this diversity of participants provides Proparco with considerable expertise in strategic oversight and governance, while ensuring its true added value in its approach to financing projects.
It also provides opportunities for collaboration and partnerships that will serve to ensure its growth and expand its areas of expertise that contribute to its pro-development mission.

The Proparco Board of directors meets four times each year.

The governance of Proparco is quite special. Since the opening of its capital 1990, its governance bodies have brought together:

  • representatives of the Agence Française de Développement (its majority shareholder);
  • representatives of French, African and Latin American public and private companies (financial and industrial);
  • representatives of international financial institutions involved in development, and ethical funds;
  • representatives of ministries in charge the Economy, Finance and Foreign affairs, as well as a Government Commissioner.
THIS DIVERSITY OF PARTICIPANTS
In 2016 and in 2020, Proparco had an independent external firm provide an assessment of its governance, in order to identify potential improvements that were then adopted by the Board of directors. As such, the Appointments committee was given the task of stabilizing the good governance principles involved in the organisation of the Board of directors. As part of this initiative, the Proparco Appointments committee adopted guidelines regarding the balanced composition of the Board of directors:

A proportion of independent directors in order to guarantee the quality of the discussions and appropriate balance of Proparco’s powers.
  • The Appointments committee has set down the criteria for identifying independent directors within the Board of directors, namely predefined criteria consisting of indicators of the director’s independence, that are then used by the Board in order to perform an individual review of each director’s independence, while considering the behaviour of the director in question and notably his active participation in the Board’s efforts and reflections.

In application of these criteria, the Appointments committee drafts a list of the independent directors and ensures the adequate presence of these directors within the Board.

 

  • The Appointments committee has defined a policy targeting gender parity between men and women within the Board of directors

The objective of the Appointments committee is to eventually bring about equal representation between women and men within the PROPARCO Board of directors, along with intermediate objectives leading to this parity objective:

2017: 5 women 31%
2018: 6 women 37.5%
2020: 7 women 44%

  • The Appointments committee has prepared a tool for assessing the balanced composition of the Board of directors, that provides a snapshot of the composition of the Proparco Board of directors while accounting for the skills and characteristics of each of its members; and while setting targeted objectives to ensure balanced and diversified representation in accordance with the areas of expertise required for the tasks performed by the Board of directors.

Three committees created by the Board of directors:

The Investment advisory committee

The Board of directors has set up an Investment advisory committee, called on for an opinion by the General management in order to assess the coherence of the financing and investing projects with Proparco’s strategic orientations, with the missions assigned to the AFD group, but also its financial conditions and main risks. The most significant projects (in terms of amounts and/or risks) are submitted for an assessment by the Investment advisory committee.
It meets each month, in the presence of its members or by means of electronic consultations.

The Investment advisory committee consists of 13 to 16 members, with at least one third being members of the Board of directors:

  • the Deputy chairman of the Board of Directors (who chairs the committee);
  • 5 members chosen from within the Agence Française de Développement teams as a result of their sector-specific or geographical expertise;
  • 5 to 8 external members who provide their technical skills with regard to financing and investment regarding the countries in which Proparco is active;
  • representatives of the ministries in charge the Economy, Finance and Foreign affairs.
The Risk and audit committee

The Risk and audit committee prepares and facilitates the actions of the Board of directors relative to all matters relating to its area of responsibility, and it reports to the Board of directors.
It monitors the guidelines and rules imposed by French regulations and, in particular, the order of 3 November 2014 relative to the internal control of companies in the banking sector, payment services and investment services subject to oversight by the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority.
The PROPARCO Board of directors has also entrusted the Risk and audit committee with missions including financial audits.

The Risk and audit committee consists of five (5) members appointed by the Board of directors from amongst its sitting members, for the duration of their directorships. The Committee members cannot hold management positions within PROPARCO.
The members of the Risk and audit committee are chosen on the basis of their knowledge, skills and expertise, which enables them to understand and monitor PROPARCO’s strategy and appetite for risk; one of them must also have specific financial or accounting competence.
 

The Appointments committee

The Appointments committee prepares and facilitates the actions of the Board of directors relative to all matters relating to its area of responsibility, and it reports to the Board of directors.
The task of the Appointments committee is to identify and recommend, to the Board of directors, candidates who could serve as directors. The Appointments committee ensures that the Board of directors is not dominated by a single person or small group of people under conditions that would harm the interests of Proparco.

The Appointments committee consists of three (3) members appointed by the Board of directors from amongst its sitting members, for the duration of their directorships. The Committee members cannot hold management positions within PROPARCO.
The Committee members are chosen on the basis of their knowledge, skills and experience in the field of PROPARCO’s activities.

Company governance principles

Access to Proparco’s articles of association:

The articles of association

The articles of association define the company’s general operating rules, and are intended to provide third parties with information.
In particular, they describe Proparco’s corporate purpose (notably encouraging the development of the private sector and, in general, of the competitive productive sector in developing countries and French overseas territories, with the company’s aim being to provide financial assistance to companies in France and abroad, to carry out investments, and also to arrange technical support programmes that are specifically intended to strengthen the capacities of the financed companies or to finance projects focusing on innovation or that are intended to improve performances in environmental, social, governance and other areas).

 

The rules of procedure of the Board of directors and the Charter of the Board and its Committees

The provisions for the operation of the Proparco Board of directors are clearly described in its rules of procedure. The Board of directors has also defined provisions for the operation of each of the Committees that it has created, with each one having its own rules of procedure.

For purposes of good governance, the Board of directors has also adopted a Charter for the members of the Board of directors and its Committees, which reiterates the conditions under which the directors (and members of the specialised Committees) perform their tasks: contribution to the efforts of the body in question, rights and means of the different bodies, rules regarding confidentiality, independence, ethics and integrity…

AFD group professional ethics charter

The professional ethics charter of the Agence Française de Développement group reiterates its mission, key values and shared ambition, as well as the major commitments regarding compliance, societal responsibility, and efforts to combat money laundering, corruption and fraud.

 

Capital and shareholding

Proparco presently has around 20 shareholders.

In addition to its main subscriber, the Agence Française de Développement, the development of its activities is also supported by French, African and Latin American public and private financial institutions, service companies, industries active in its countries of intervention, as well as ethical funds and foundations.
The range of horizons of Proparco’s shareholders is one of its strengths: this community of investors from the North and South has a shared commitment in favour of sustainable development. Since their successive arrivals starting with the opening of the capital in 1990, they have played and continue to play a decisive role in the institution’s strategic oversight and good governance.

Capital and shareholding
EUR 1 353m
a share capital of
Evolution of the issued capital
2023
Share capital increase from €984 million to €1 353 million
2020
Since its creation in 1977, Proparco's share capital has grown from 1.5 million euros to 984 million euros today

At the end of 2020, a capital increase provided Proparco with additional financial means to implement its strategy and expand its action in favour of the private sector in developing and emerging countries.

2016
At the Annual Committee in December Proparco’s 2017- 2020 strategy was adopted.

By doubling its funding in order to reach 2 billion euros by 2020, Proparco aims to triple its impact on development (job creation, fight against global warming, access to essential goods and services, helping businesses with E&S practices, promoting innovation).

2011
Creation of the Interact Climate Change Facility with AFD, EIB and ten other EDFIs:

a mutual fund dedicated to financing private sector operations in the South in renewable energies and energy efficiency in line with the AFD group “climate” strategy, started in the mid 2000’s.

2009
Extension of Proparco’s geographical area of operations to all countries eligible for development assistance.

Launch of the magazine Private Sector & Development. Creation of the Investment and Support Fund for Businesses in Africa (FISEA), held by AFD and advised by Proparco.

2008
a share capital of €420m
2004
Creation of European Financing Partners (EFP) with nine other EDFIs and the European Investment Bank (EIB), a mutual fund dedicated to financing the private sector in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
2001
a share capital of €142.6m
1993
a share capital of €68m
1992
Creation of the association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI)

Proparco becomes a member.

1990
Share capital increase from €21 million to €34 million (140 million to 225 million French francs).

Status changed to a financial company approved by the French banking authorities, enabling Proparco to operate via equity, but also via loans and guarantees, as well as through consultancy and advisory services for the arrangement of deals.
Entry of public and private shareholders, financiers and industries from the North and South: Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), BNP Paribas, Coface, GDF Suez and Natixis.

1985
a share capital of €9.14m
1977
With a share capital of 10 million French francs (€1.5 million), 100% held by CCCE, its mandate was to finance the private sector in the franc zone.

Creation of the Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (Proparco) by the Caisse Centrale de Coopération Economique (CCCE), which became AFD in 1998.

Projets