AFD Group mobilizes additional €1bn under Choose Africa initiative
France's AFD Group has committed to mobilize an additional €1 billion under the Choose Africa initiative. This new component, Resilience, is implemented by Proparco, the Group’s private sector financing arm, and will meet the needs of African MSMEs that have been hard hit by the health and economic crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This initiative was initially set at €2.5 billion for 2018-2022 and now stands at €3.5 billion.
Several projects have already been financed through the Choose Africa initiative: In May 2020, in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, Proparco and COFINA signed a €10 million loan agreement to support the financial inclusion of MSMEs and the informal sector and help them cope with the economic and health crises. In 2019, in Mauritania, AFD Group and Attijari Bank Mauritania signed a guarantee mechanism that will cover loans granted to companies for a total of €5.5 million. These guarantees will help finance some 140 Mauritanian SMEs.
