Cotonou on April 21, 2022. AFRICAN GUARANTEE FUND for Small and Medium Enterprises (AGF) has granted a line of portfolio guarantee for a total amount of CFAF 1.6 billion to Ecobank Benin to support SMEs, female entrepreneurship and the green economy in Benin. The signing ceremony took place in the offices of the headquarters of Ecobank Benin in Cotonou.
Signed by Lazare NOULEKOU, Managing Director of ECOBANK Benin and Bendjin KPEGLO, Managing Director of AGF WEST AFRICA, this line of guarantee makes it possible, on the one hand, to overcome the difficulties linked to the absence of guarantees encountered by SMEs/ PMI and which constitute an obstacle to the financing of their activities and on the other hand to further increase its commitment to the SME/SMI segment while promoting the development of female leadership in the private sector.
As part of the signing ceremony, Mr. Bendjin KPEGLO, Managing Director of AGF WEST AFRICA, declared:
“Governments in our countries have put in place development plans, one of the priorities of which is support for SMEs and the reduction of the unemployment rate. The new banking regulations underway in our sub-region impose additional requirements on banks in the context of their financing activity, to make them more efficient and solid. In order to meet these requirements, banks need reliable partners to support them, especially in the SME/SMI segment which represents the largest part of the economic fabric, but at the same time more vulnerable, and having great difficulty in finding financing. .
To this end, AGF is one of these reference partners on the continent, especially with the advantages linked to its AA- rating by Fitch Rating and its renowned shareholders. It is in this perspective that comes this partnership between Ecobank Benin and AGF West Africa, which brings comfort to the bank for the financing of SMEs in Benin, with a focus on SMEs carried by women (through the AFAWA program) and those whose activities are in line with the protection of the environment.
This portfolio guarantee features a component of the AFAWA program, a joint initiative of the AfDB and the African Guarantee Fund which aims to unlock up to USD 3 billion in loans to women-owned SMEs in Africa. »
For his part, Mr. Lazare NOULEKOU, Managing Director of ECOBANK Benin declared that “It is a partnership that gives us more comfort and flexibility in the financing of Beninese SMEs / SMIs and we are proud to make it a reality today. with the AGF. SMEs/SMIs constitute the backbone of the economy, especially in developing countries where they participate in job creation and income generation. Their impact is even greater in Benin where they represent 90% of the industrial sector. This is why we have literally dedicated a business unit to them at Ecobank: The Commercial Bank.
This partnership will allow us to better support them according to their needs, in particular: the financing of stocks, assets and contracts to which they are bidding or for which they are declared successful bidders with the issuance of various guarantees ranging from the bid to the holdback going through the advance of start, of good end of execution. In addition, international trade holds our attention with a wide range of products such as letters of credit, documentary remittances, endorsements and draft discounts, etc.
Beyond this non-exhaustive list of financing solutions, Beninese SMEs/SMIs have the opportunity to benefit with Ecobank from banking products using digital technology, such as EcobankPay, smart Digital Payment Terminals (TPE), Bank Collect and Omni Lite that allow them to make payments and collections in a secure and autonomous way, and to manage cash flow through digital solutions.
Ecobank also promotes female leadership development through its Ellevate program, which aims to unlock the potential of women-led or women-focused businesses with solutions for better cash management, loans at favorable interest and value-added services. »