SME financing and support in West Africa

In Benin, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) launched a support package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Cotonou. The initiative focuses on strengthening private-sector growth through advisory and financing solutions, specifically targeting digitalization, the green transition, and inclusion for women- and youth-led businesses.

Beyond providing liquidity, the EBRD program aims to address business structuring issues—such as governance, strategy, and financial management—to help companies become more bankable.

Parallel efforts to support SMEs have also emerged in Senegal, where the Fonds de Garantie des Investissements Prioritaires (FONGIP) and Banque Outarde established a framework agreement. This partnership provides credit guarantees of up to 500 million FCFA per beneficiary to help SMEs and larger companies overcome collateral shortages and support both cash flow and medium-term investment needs.

Recent developments in the region show a continued focus on specialized credit access. In Guinea, the Fonds de Garantie des Prêts aux Entreprises (FGPE) and ECOBANK Guinée signed a partnership to improve credit access for the agricultural sector. This initiative uses a Partial Credit Portfolio Guarantee mechanism, established under the World Bank-funded Commercial Agriculture Development Program in Guinea (PDACG), to assist operators lacking sufficient collateral.

In Senegal, the WE! Fund—a subsidiary of FONSIS dedicated to female entrepreneurship—invested 1 billion FCFA into two SMEs: Mayawa Agro-Industrie and Amar Bio Solutions. These investments are intended to scale industrial production and are expected to create approximately 200 direct jobs.