Share the page
Proparco and the European Union
In 2015, the European Commission accredited Proparco to manage European funds for development. Mobilized to support projects in financial inclusion, support for entrepreneurship, climate finance, preservation of natural capital, renewable energies and creative and cultural industries, these funds are deployed in the form of grants or guarantees.
A key actor in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the European Union is one of the world's leading donors. For several years, the European Commission has shown its commitment to scale up its financing for the private sector. This objective has been reaffirmed with the new €14.3bn guarantee tool for development finance institutions from the European Fund for Sustainable Development+ for 2021-2027.
Resources for greater impact
This partnership has since allowed Proparco to mobilize additional resources to its own financing in order to extend its range of services for the private sector. The mobilization of funds delegated by Proparco provides greater additionality and increases the impacts of its financing, by exploring new sectors and/or new markets, which have high impacts but are riskier, and by increasing Proparco’s non-financial contribution to the private sector.
European funds can be mobilized in several forms depending on the objectives: grants, in particular to deploy technical assistance programs, or guarantees, which are systematically associated with Proparco’s financing.
- 2008. The Agence française de développement (AFD) is accredited to receive and manage European Union funds
- 2015. Proparco is accredited to receive and manage European Union funds
- 2016-2022. 10 European programs are deployed in five key sectors: financial inclusion, renewable energies, support for entrepreneurship, cultural and creative industries and sustainable transport
- 2016. Signature of the African Renewable Energy Scale-up Facility (ARESUF ou ARE Scale-Up facility)
- 2017. Launch of the T&C Facility
- 2019. Launch of the EURIZ guarantee programme
- 2020. Launch of EFSD Covid Response emergency credit line programme
- 2021. Launch of the MENA Facility, SUNREF II and CREA Fund programmes
- 2022. Launch of the BRT Dakar, EDFI MSME Platform and FISEA+ programmes
- 2021-2027. The European Union starts a new budget year and launches the call for proposals for the European Fund for Sustainable Development+ (EFSD+) guarantee
- 2024. Launch of the MSME+ and Carbon Sinks programmes
Created in 2016, the EDFI Management Company (EDFI MC) acts as a pooled operational platform for the management of funds delegated by the European Commission. The association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) and nine DFIs, including Proparco, are shareholders, enabling joint governance in terms of strategy and deployment of delegated European financing.
EDFI MC manages ElectriFI and AgriFI, two instruments financed by the European Union to promote renewable energies and sustainable agriculture in developing countries, as well as other co-financing mechanisms, such as European Financing Partners (EFP) and Interact Climate Change Facility (ICCF).
List of European programmes
Financial inclusion
Through the delegated funds entrusted to Proparco, the European Union supports the development of solutions designed to guarantee and facilitate access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
EURIZ: guaranteeing and facilitating access to credit for high-impact SMES in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific
To facilitate small and medium-sized enterprises access to credit and thereby promote their development, AFD Group has launched the EURIZ guarantee scheme, with financial support from the EU and Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
MENA Facility: a set of guarantees and credit lines for SMES in the Mediterranean
In 2008, the European Commission launched the Neighborhood Investment Facility (NIF), an innovative financial instrument to support the development of the private sector, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The MENA Facility has been operational since 2021 and is one of the projects from this “NIF” Initiative. It aims to support the financial inclusion and financing of SMEs in seven Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.
EFSD Covid Response: supporting SMES in Africa affected by the crisis
The economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are severely affecting MSMEs in Africa and exacerbating the problems they have in accessing finance, which they already faced before the crisis. In response to the pandemic, in 2020, the European Union refocused the guarantees of the External Investment Plan (EFSD) to support small businesses affected by the crisis and encourage local banks to finance them more.
Supporting entrepreneurship in Africa
Thanks to funds delegated by the European Union, Proparco supports the development of impact investment funds in Africa, with the aim of strengthening access to financing for local entrepreneurs.
FISEA+: accelerating capital mobilization by impact investment funds in Africa
FISEA+ is an initiative that invests in high-impact funds that address 4 key strategic priorities: support for SMEs, the emergence of social and solidarity-based enterprises, the development of a sustainable private sector in fragile countries, as well as support for start-ups specializing in digital innovation.
Climate finance and renewable energies
The European Union entrusts Proparco with financing dedicated to accelerating the energy transition and combating climate change. These funds support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects led by private players in emerging and developing countries.
SUNREF II Palestine: supporting energy efficiency projects
In December 2021, Proparco signed a €11.5m fund delegation agreement with the European Union to continue the SUNREF Palestine project, launched with AFD. SUNREF is an AFD Group product and label which aims to facilitate investments in the green energy sector by working on an approach targeting both supply and demand.
Are Scale-up: facilitating private sector investments in renewable energies in Africa
The AFD Group, with the support of the European Union, has set up the African Renewable Energy Scale-Up facility (ARE Scale-Up facility) to boost private sector investment in on–grid and off-grid renewable energy production in Africa.
Natural capital
Proparco has developed an action program dedicated to the preservation of natural capital through the financing of projects that rely on carbon sinks: soils, forests, oceans.
EDFI Carbon Sink
EDFI Carbon Sinks is a joint guarantee programme designed by the members of the EDFI Association and EDFI Management Company. The programme is designed to support European Development Finance Institutions (EDFIs) and their private and public co-investors to scale up equity investments in forestry and regenerative agribusiness companies investing in carbon sink projects, which include the following:
- Natural forests and natural marine ecosystems
- Outgrower schemes & smallholder forestry and algaculture
- Agricultural and other carbon sink investments such as blue carbon projects
- Plantation forestry
- Forest and ocean related product processing for prolonged carbon storage
Value chains
Value chains structure economic activity by linking the various links in production, processing and distribution. Their long-term financing, particularly in complex environments, helps support the resilience of economies, promote job creation and improve access to essential goods and services.
EDFI Transforming Global Value Chains (EDFI TGVC)
EDFI Transforming Global Value Chains (EDFI TGVC) is designed to support European Development Finance Institutions (EDFIs) and their private and public co-investors to scale up debt investments into local, regional and value chain companies and services in developing countries covering the following targeted range of key sub-sectors:
- Agribusiness value chains, including food and beverage and formulated complementary food (infant food)
- Sustainable production and manufacturing value chains, including e-vehicles and critical raw materials
- Health value chains and the education sector, including pharmaceuticals
- Retail, wholesale, transportation, storage, logistics and digital company value chains, sustainable tourism
- Construction and real estate sector including green buildings
The TGVC programme can offer significant impact in supporting employment for women and young people as well as environmental and digital transformation.
Creative and cultural industries
According to UNESCO, the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) represent approximately 3% of global GDP and 30 million jobs. Yet, their growth is often hindered by limited access to financing. The specific characteristics of the creative economy, such as the size of its businesses (often SMEs and startups) or the intangible nature of their assets, can pose challenges for financial intermediaries lacking expertise in this sector.
CREA Fund: a fund to support cultural and creative industries (CCIs)
The creative economy is now recognized as a driver of development: it fosters innovation, promotes knowledge transfer, and contributes to more inclusive growth. Proparco, with the support of the European Commission's CREATIFI initiative, has launched CREA Fund, aimed at financial intermediaries interested in exploring the opportunities offered by this sector in African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries.