Four years after the Ouagadougou speech in which French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment to supporting the entrepreneurship revolution in Africa, AFD Group has exceeded the initial objective of the Choose Africa initiative, with 3 billion euros committed as of December 2021. Nearly 250 local partners are contributing to the success of this initiative across the African continent. Review by Proparco, AFD’s subsidiary.
Launched in 2018 with a target of €2.5 billion to be deployed before the end of 2022, the French initiative Choose Africa testifies to France’s increased commitment to African start-ups and MSMEs. AFD and its private sector subsidiary Proparco have put their expertise and all their financing and support tools at the service of these small companies, which play a decisive role in job creation and access to essential goods and services on the continent.
The 3 billion euros committed by AFD Group as of December 31, 2021 have been allocated as follows : 2.5 billion in the form of loans or guarantees to local financial institutions to increase access to credit for MSMEs; 470 million in equity investments; 45 million in the form of technical assistance, says Proparco, AFD’s subsidiary, in a press release.
This financing is deployed by nearly 250 local partners – banks, investment funds, microfinance institutions and incubators – for the benefit of more than 26,000 MSMEs and tens of thousands of micro-entrepreneurs. In total, more than 1.5 million jobs will be supported through this initiative. Nearly 2,500 companies will also benefit from technical assistance.
An initiative strengthened in 2020 in response to the crisis
« These good results have been achieved thanks to the support of the French government and the financing granted under the Resilience component of Choose Africa, launched in November 2020. This component has enabled AFD Group to complete its offer with tools adapted to the needs of MSMEs affected by the crisis. 780 million have been deployed under this Resilience component, analyzes the institution.
This French effort catalyzed European and international mobilization in favor of African entrepreneurship, which materialized in Paris in November 2020 during the first Finance in Common Summit. Some twenty development finance institutions, including Proparco, reaffirmed their commitment to supporting African MSMEs to enable a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery. »
AFD Group committed to supporting an innovative private sector that creates jobs
« The success of Choose Africa testifies to the renewed and strengthened partnership between France and the African continent, praised during the New Africa-France Summit in Montpellier in October 2021. It is also in line with AFD Group’s long-term commitment to African MSMEs, which will remain one of the structuring priorities of its activity in the coming years, for Proparco.
For example, it will result in additional efforts to support start-ups at all stages of their development through new synergies developed with Digital Africa. It will thus respond to a necessary need to support African start-ups from the seed phase. 130 million euros will be dedicated to African start-ups between 2022 and 2025, which is double the amount of AFD Group’s commitment to them over the 2018-2022 period. »
« AFD Group’s experience, the budgetary resources allocated by the French government and the expertise of our many partners on the African continent have made the Choose Africa initiative a success. The impact of this initiative and the proven effects of the crisis on entrepreneurs encourage us to continue our efforts by continuously adapting our offer to the needs of African start-ups and small and medium enterprises. AFD Group will continue to play a leading role in the European and international mobilization in their regard, » said Grégory Clemente, Chief Executive Officer of Proparco.
For more information : https://choose-africa.com/en/initiative-choose-africa/
