IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Proparco have agreed to collaborate more closely to create markets, mobilize private sector investment, and support economic recovery in developing countries in the wake of the COVID-19 global crisis.

AFD and Proparco, with the support of the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, are launching EURIZ, a new scheme enabling financial institutions to partially hedge their credit risk.

The objective is to offer local banks guarantees so that they can more easily provide loans to MSMEs in the ACP area. This new project is part of the Thematic Blending Framework of the EU’s Development Cooperation Instrument and European Development Fund.

It is also part of Choose Africa, a French initiative targeting African MSMEs. It will support the creation and development of SMEs with a high development impact and promote job creation.

In times of economic instability, Proparco, joins forces with the European Commission and several other European sovereigns in supporting TCX to protect households and businesses in the poorest countries against currency risk and to increase their financial resilience.

One year after the launch of the 2X Challenge at the G7 Charlevoix Summit, development finance institutions (DFIs) of the G7 countries have already committed and mobilized $2.47 billion in gender-smart investments. With new members having joined the challenge and a set of criteria defining what it means to invest in women, the momentum to advance women’s economic participation and opportunity is growing stronger.

In response to the various issues facing the agriculture sector, PROPARCO provides its clients with financial and non-financial solutions through PROPULSE, its capacity building service to engage its clients towards more positive impacts.

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and its subsidiary PROPARCO have recently signed two new projects in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), which is recognized for its expertise in inclusive insurance.
AFD has allocated a €2.5 million grant to the ILO to implement risk management solutions for small enterprises and low-income households in Africa. The project will explore the potential for public-private partnerships, between governments and the financial sector, to achieve social and development impact. PROPARCO, for its part, has signed a €900,000 technical assistance grant to the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation to develop a risk management programme with microfinance institutions, with the ILO’s support, to facilitate access to insurance products for rural communities.

FinDev Canada, US DFC, Proparco and AXA XL announced they are providing an innovative financing solution to MFX Currency Risk Solutions (MFX) to enhance its liquidity and help position it for its next phase of growth. MFX is a socially-oriented company that supports impact investing in emerging and developing countries by providing hedging products that mitigate currency exchange risk.

This brochure aims to sensitize financial institutions to their role in the fight against climate change. For example, they have a key role to play in mobilizing private climate finance. This brochure presents the range of services provided by PROPARCO (financing, guarantees and technical assistance) to allow partner banks and financial institutions to take better account of climate issues.

Proparco invested US$2 million in Accion Venture Lab’s new fund, adding together with global nonprofit Accion and a group of third-party impact and commercial investors, $33M to the initial Venture Lab’s capital pool. Since its launch in 2012, Accion Venture Lab has proven itself as a leader in fintech impact investing at the seed stage. This increased capital will allow Accion Venture Lab to further develop its activities in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

At the Ambition Africa Conference and during the event organized by France Invest, Mr. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy and Finance, announced the launch of a Call for Expressions of Interest for an investment fund dedicated to Africa. This initiative, which PROPARCO will be involved in as an investor, aims to attract private investors and a French and/or European manager on the private equity market in Africa

Already a shareholder of Voltalia since 2016, Proparco is participating in the capital increase of this company engaged in the development of competitive renewable energy projects. This capital increase provides the French company with additional resources to increase its impact in emerging and developing countries.

The new issue of Proparco's Private Sector and Development magazine focuses on the issues and challenges of a key topic for business growth: governance. Good governance practices play a fundamental role in ensuring the sustainability of companies and confidence from lenders and investors. As a development financial institution, Proparco ensures that these best practices are implemented by its clients. This is why we wanted an issue of our review "Private Sector & Development" to be devoted to it.

Since 2015, tackling climate change has been a core aspect of the AFD Group identity. This positioning has been strengthened by the adoption of a 2017-2022 climate strategy that reflects the Group’s ambition to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement and low-carbon and resilient transitions in developing and emerging countries.

Over 200 businesses in the developing world received investment over the last three years.

Some of the largest household names in the global investment industry today announced that they would be backing a new industry body set up to promote investment in women.

Nature’s services – food, economic, social – are essential to our societies, yet they have declined significantly with the destruction of biodiver- sity and the situation is rapidly worsening. Private companies, which we more specifically focus on in this issue of the Private Sector & Development review, are emerging and developing in response to the needs of society in often fast-growing economies.