The French Development Agency (AFD) has granted BICIS a portfolio guarantee of 3.5 million euros (2,300,000,000 CFA francs) for the support of Senegalese VSEs and SMEs, APS has learned.
 
"The ARIZ guarantee, a financial instrument set up by AFD and its subsidiary dedicated to the private sector Proparco, is a risk-sharing tool offered to financial institutions to enable them to develop their activities with VSEs and SMEs",  
 
According to the same source, "ARIZ is thus an effective instrument to encourage investment and job creation in many sectors of activity (agriculture, health, industry, microfinance, transport...). This key tool of financial intermediation is particularly adapted to the specificities of the Senegalese economy." 
 
She points out that since 2005, BICIS, which is one of the main beneficiaries of the ARIZ guarantee in Senegal, has supported nearly 400 VSEs / SMEs through this scheme. This transaction constitutes the 5th portfolio guarantee program between the AFD Group and BICIS. 
 
According to the press release, Bernard Levie, Director General of BICIS, welcomed this financing, which will increase BICIS' capacity to support entrepreneurs, SMEs and VSEs in Senegal. 
 
"Our partnership with AFD is historic and multifaceted. The portfolio guarantee we are signing today is in its fifth renewal. This testifies to its relevance, in relation to the SME market, for which it is intended," he said.
 
This partnership between BICIS and Proparco, in line with PAP2A, is part of the French initiative Choose Africa. 
 
For Proparco's Regional Director, Fatoumata Sissoko-Sy, "the Choose Africa initiative, launched by the AFD Group in 2019, now aims to devote €3.5 billion to financing and supporting start-ups and MSMEs on the African continent by the end of 2022". 
 
She assured that "the AFD Group and its partners on the continent are resolutely committed to supporting the continent's entrepreneurs and strengthening their access to financing, particularly in the context of the current crisis".