On Wednesday, November 04, 2015, at BOAD headquarters, Mr Henri-Marie DONDRA, Managing Director of the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE), and Mr Christian ADOVELANDE, President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), signed three (3) surety agreements for the benefit of the Malian companies M3 SA and ATEL of Mali on the one hand and SOBEMAP of Benin on the other.
This ceremony is of particular importance, as it confirms the dynamism and vitality of the cooperation between FAGACE and BOAD for over 30 years.
In accordance with the provisions of these agreements, the total amount of the guarantees granted by the Fund amounts to 9.225 billion CFA francs, broken down as follows: CFAF 3.5 billion for Moulins Modernes du Mali, CFAF 4 billion for ATEL-Mali and CFAF 1.725 billion for SOBEMAP in Benin.
Ultimately, these agreements will enable BOAD to provide financing worth a total of 28.5 billion CFA francs to the development projects in question.
To sum up, the first project involves ATEL Mali’s deployment of Mali’s third telecommunications network. This project is essentially justified by the growing evolution of the mobile telephony market in Mali, and above all by the growth potential for Internet and value-added services. The infrastructure to be deployed under the project will be located throughout Mali, with the main equipment making up the core network and fixed Internet access in Bamako and the regional capitals.
The guarantee granted by the Fund amounts to 4 billion FCFA, or 40% of the loan to be mobilized by ATEL-Mali from the West African Development Bank (BOAD).
The second project concerns M3-SA (Moulins Modernes du Mali). Its purpose is to enable the promoter to expand and diversify its activities in Mali. The project is essentially justified by the existence of (i) a favorable institutional and regulatory framework; (ii) a buoyant market on a national and regional scale, (iii) raw materials to be valorized through processing and (iv) specific advantages for the Republic of Mali and the sub-region. The Fund is backing this project to the tune of CFAF 3.5 billion, i.e. 50% of the loan to be raised from BOAD. Thanks to this financing, the project will create jobs in the chain, develop the local economy through better availability of products on the market, and ensure food security for local communities and the Malian population in general.
Finally, the third project concerns SOBEMAP, Société Béninoise des Manutentions Portuaires. SOBEMAP is a commercial company whose purpose is to carry out handling, customs brokerage and maritime consignment operations at the Port of Cotonou, as well as all other related activities. The aim of the project is to contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the Port of Cotonou through the acquisition of new-generation handling equipment, the construction of storage warehouses, and the refurbishment and equipping of the equipment repair workshop for handling different types of traffic, including accessories and spare parts. FAGACE is backing this project to the tune of FCFA 1.725 billion, or 15% of the loan to be mobilized from BOAD.
FAGACE is proud to have contributed to these important projects, whose socio-economic impact on the West African sub-region is indisputable.
In addition, the implementation of synergistic actions with BOAD is an asset for reinforcing the effectiveness of local development projects and programs, and FAGACE intends to pursue and increase initiatives in this direction.
BOAD is a privileged partner of FAGACE, and to date, cooperation between the two institutions has totalled 55.039 billion CFA francs.
Finally, it should be noted that these projects bring the Fund’s downstream interventions to 12.317 billion for Mali and 37.923 billion for Benin.
