The partnership between the Popular Central Bank (BCP) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) is extended to the West African market. This agreement follows another, concluded last October, in favour of Moroccan businesses.

The new partnership will be implemented through Atlantic Business International (ABI), the subsidiary of the BCP group that is present in the eight countries of the Economic and Monetary Union West Africa (UEMOA). Two agreements are being prepared: a €65 million intermediated loan and a €10 million risk-sharing facility for SMEs in the region.

The first relates to €65 million in financing to be granted by the European Investment Bank to ABI. This is a loan that will be deployed through the banking subsidiaries of the Atlantic Business International group in the UEMOA member states (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo) to finance and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and medium-sized enterprises (ETI). “The objective of this operation is to finance projects led by SMEs and midcaps, and will in particular target SMEs that contribute significantly to youth employment and to gender equality in access to finance”, states the EIB in a loan note.

The second transaction concerns a 10-million euro risk-sharing agreement. “This facility provides a partial portfolio guarantee to Atlantic Business International and its banking subsidiaries to support the financing of eligible small and medium-sized investments undertaken by SMEs in several West African countries. The aim is to contribute to economic recovery and resilience, and to job creation in the face of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in the region,” explains the EIB.