The CEO of Cofina, Jean-Luc Konan, was received this morning in audience in Ouagadougou by HE on
President of the Republic of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. Accompanied by Mrs.
Marema Bao (Deputy Managing Director of the Group), Messrs. Didier Logon (Regional Director),
Hervé-Serge Ndakpri (Chief Financial Officer), Mamady Sanoh (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cofina
Burkina), Mr. Jean-Luc Konan presented to the Head of State the Cofina Group and its achievements since
five years at the service of African VSEs and SMEs.
Before the planned opening of a branch in Ouagadougou in October, the delegation had the opportunity to return
at greater length on Cofina 's ambition to serve the economy of Burkina Faso, whose growth
relies to a significant extent on its business fabric, which, as in other countries in the region, has
need financial support and advice to develop and sustain their activities.
Pioneer of mesofinance, the “missing link” between microfinance and traditional banking, the
Cofina Group has long recognized that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have an impact
directly on the reduction of poverty, the creation of wealth and jobs, the integration of women and
youth. While these SMEs represent 90% of businesses and 60% of formal jobs in Africa , for
however, their development is seriously hampered by limited access to financing since only 20
% of SMEs have bank loans.
“During this audience , I wanted to thank HE the President of the Republic, Roch Marc
Christian Kaboré, for the quality of the dialogue with his government which allows us to start our
activities in Burkina Faso, says Jean-Luc Konan. Before adding: the particularity of our model is that
we don't have a privileged sector. Our pan-African activity is based on one observation: the approach of
market must be specific to each country. It all depends on national economies. The fundamental error
committed by large groups is to consider Africa as a single space, while our countries
have their own structures. Our commitment in Burkina Faso will therefore be adapted to the needs and
structure of its markets. »
The success and growth of the Cofina Group, which today has a total balance sheet of 200 billion francs
CFA, can be explained by its propensity to work as close as possible to the field, relying on teams
who have developed a risk approach adapted to the specificities of entrepreneur clients.
“The opening of our subsidiary in Burkina Faso is a particularly exciting new stage in the life
by Cofina. We are proud of the idea of being able to bring our expertise to this country. It's that guy
of adventure which constantly accentuates our motivation to always do better in the service of all those who
take risks, and who put their energy at the service of their country and of Africa as a whole",
concluded Jean-Luc Konan.
About COFINA Group
Founded in 2013, the COFINA Group is the first African financial institution dedicated to mesofinance, the
"missing link" between microfinance and traditional banking which offers the possibility for SMEs
African companies (90% of the continent's private companies) easier access to credit. Present in six
African countries (Congo-Brazzaville, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Senegal), COFINA has already
financed more than 74,000 business projects, 48% of which were led by women entrepreneurs. COFINA knew
establish itself in recent years as the reference in terms of financing small and medium-sized
businesses in West and Central Africa. COFINA has set itself the challenge of reducing the financial divide
suffered by a large part of the new African middle class. With more than 1,200 employees, COFINA manages a portfolio of more than 165,000 clients and 74,000 projects financed, distributed
on its six subsidiaries. As of June 30, 2019, the institution posted a balance sheet total of 200 billion CFA francs.
For more information: groupecofina.com