2024-07-04 13:46:55
Through this agreement, the BCP group and the EIB are expanding their cooperation to the region’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) market, the signatories of the agreement emphasize in a press release.
The initiative, supported by the European Union (EU), reinforces ABI and the EIB’s commitment to financial inclusion, youth and women’s empowerment and leadership, and economic development in the region.
As part of this strategic partnership, the EIB loan to ABI will mobilize up to EUR 130 million in financing for Ivorian, Senegalese and Burkinabe companies, with priority given to SMEs, the press release said, continuing that at least 30% of the funds will benefit women and the same amount for young people, thus strengthening the parties’ commitment to diversity and inclusion.
In addition, this partnership will be complemented by technical assistance provided by the EIB to ABI and a risk-sharing mechanism of EUR 65 million to provide SMEs with an integrated service offering.
According to the same source, this is one of the very first operations under the 2023-2027 Agreement between the EU and the EIB for financing the private sector in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Its achievement, facilitated by the long-term partnership between the EIB and the BCP group, illustrates the commitment of the latter and its subsidiaries to economic development and the promotion of social inclusion on the African continent.
This partnership will contribute to the achievement of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, the EU External Action and the EU Multiannual Indicative Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa 2021-2027, thus supporting inclusive and job-creating economic growth on the continent, in line with the EU Multiannual Indicative Programmes in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal, the press release added.
On the occasion of the signing of the agreement, the Managing Director of BCP International (a subsidiary of the BCP group in charge of managing its activities in the UEMOA, CEMAC and Indian Ocean zones), Abdeslam Bennani, reaffirmed the Group’s commitment to African SMEs and explained how this partnership with the EIB will contribute to their development.
“This partnership with the European Investment Bank demonstrates the commitment of the BCP group to supporting African businesses through its banking subsidiaries, particularly the Banque Atlantique network,” he said, noting that SMEs and ETIs (Intermediate-sized Enterprises) are real drivers of economic growth and social development.
“We believe in their potential and their ability to make a decisive contribution to job creation. This is why the Group has made supporting businesses one of its main areas of action by implementing tailor-made financing solutions to better meet their expectations. This financing will therefore strengthen our action in favor of financial inclusion, youth and women’s leadership, as well as private sector development in sub-Saharan Africa,” he added.
For his part, Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the EIB, said that the objective of this important partnership is to enable the Banques Atlantiques to strengthen their support for Ivorian, Senegalese and Burkinabe companies, mainly SMEs, by particularly promoting access to financing for young people and women.
Atlantic Business International (ABI) is the holding company in the UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) zone of the BCP group.
A financial holding company present in the 8 countries of the UEMOA area and in Guinea, ABI occupies a key position in the region through its commercial banks (Banque Atlantique, BIA Niger and BPMG), its insurance companies (Atlantique Assurances vie et IARD in Côte d’Ivoire and GTA vie et IARD in Togo) and its specialized subsidiaries (Atlantique Finance and Atlantic Asset Management). Atlantic Business International is the 3rd group in UEMOA in terms of credit market share.
2024-07-04 13:46:55