iamge_secteur_privé.JPG As part of the framework of the initiative to promote growth in Africa which President Sarkozy announced in South Africa in February 2008, the Board of Directors of the Investment and Support Fund for Businesses in Africa (FISEA - Fonds d’investissement et de soutien aux entreprises en Afrique) met today and the first projects were approved. This 250 million euro investment fund is expected to help create over 100 000 jobs in Africa.

Africa’s private sector carries the burden of both the informal economy and the predominance of small and medium-sized enterprises. Today it suffers from a lack of organization and very limited access to investment. The FISEA fund is one of the realizations of the initiative to promote growth in Africa which President Sarkozy launched in Cape Town on 28 February 2008.

The aim is to promote the growth of African SMEs by giving them access to equity capital and by helping them build their capacities. This segment of the economy creates the most jobs but has the most difficulties gaining access to financing. FISEA is destined to be an additional tool to traditional private funds. It will be earmarked for operations that are riskier than those investors spontaneously accept to finance. Indeed, it will target more unstable and post-crisis regions, small-scale investments and traditionally neglected sectors (agriculture, microfinance, new energies, health, education…). FISEA may consequently attract other risk capital investors on the continent.

The 250 million euro fund is held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and managed by PROPARCO, its private sector investment arm. Half the projects financed by FISEA will involve taking equity stakes in investment funds so that these can in turn invest in African businesses. The other half will be earmarked for direct equity investments in businesses. One of the features of the fund is that it includes an envelope to support businesses in the implementation and supervision of their projects.

Projects must be financially profitable in order to ensure that they are sustainable and have a real impact on the local economic fabric. For example, the first projects considered involve agricultural production in West Africa, microfinance in Central Africa and investment funds specialized in SME financing in Southern Africa.

With an annual investment of 50 million euros, over the next five years FISEA is expected to finance around sixty projects and should create over 100 000 jobs in Africa.

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has been combating poverty and promoting development in South countries and Overseas France for over 60 years and implements the development policy defined by the French Government.
AFD is active in the field in over 50 countries and finances and supports projects to improve living conditions for populations, boost economic growth and protect the planet: getting children into school, supporting farmers and small companies, providing water supply, preserving tropical forests, combating climate change…
In 2008, AFD earmarked some 4.5 billion euros to finance operations in South countries and Overseas France. Thanks to this financing 7 million children were able to go to school, 4.4 million people gained access to water supply and 370 000 jobs were supported in the productive sector. Energy efficiency projects for the same year will save 3.3 million tons of CO2 annually.
www.afd.fr

Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and by private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to promote private investment in emerging and developing countries in support of growth, sustainable development and reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO was created thirty years ago on the conviction that the private sector has a crucial role to play in development. It tripled its capital in 2008.
PROPARCO finances operations which are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. It invests in a geographical area encompassing major emerging countries and the poorest countries. Africa accounts for 55% of its activity. PROPARCO provides a wide range of financial products tailored to the specific needs of private investors in developing countries.
In 2008, PROPARCO allocated €800M for over sixty projects in over thirty countries.
www.proparco.fr

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