HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 45TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE FAGACE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors of the Fonds Africain de Garantie et de Coopération Economique (FAGACE) held its 45th ordinary session from June 30 to July 1, 2016 at the institution’s headquarters in Cotonou, under the chairmanship of Mr. Badawasso T. GNARO, Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development Planning of the Togolese Republic, acting Chairman.

Directors from Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo were represented at this session.

After approving the minutes of its 44th meeting held on February 17, 2016 in Benin, the Board of Directors approved the following projects, among others:

–  In the industrial sector, two (2) projects relating to :

• endorsement of the Fund in favor of ZEDONG in Cameroon, for the construction of a production plant for lightweight prestressed concrete columns. Amount guaranteed: 625 million CFA francs, or 50% of the total amount of the loan to be raised from Commercial Bank Cameroun (CBC);

• the Fund’s support for Global Palm Oil Process in Cameroon. This project concerns the construction of a semi-modern palm kernel fine oil extraction plant in Yassa by Global Palm Oil Process. The Fund is providing a partial guarantee for an investment loan of CFA 55 million to be arranged with CBC.

–  In the field of microfinance, the Board approved the establishment of a 1 billion CFA francs guarantee line for FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT (FINADEV BENIN) in Benin.

With these new commitments, the Fund’s interventions total 331,423 million CFA francs in guarantees, 7,300 million CFA francs in direct financing, 8,987 million CFA francs in subsidies and 1,165 million CFA francs in equity investments.

In addition, the Board of Directors took note of the following communications:

• closure of the FAGACE-Bank Austria case
• FAGACE-ETC cooperation
• the note on the status of the commitments portfolio

Le Conseil a ensuite pris d’importantes décisions notamment :

• adoption of the 2015 annual activity report,
• adoption of the 2015 financial statements,
• the adoption of the Statutory Auditors’ reports at December 31, 2015,
• the appointment for a period of six (6) months of Mrs. Mawékouta ABOU AISSAH to the position of Acting General Manager as from July 1, 2016.

In closing the proceedings, Chairman Badawasso T. GNARO, on behalf of the Board of Directors, thanked the Beninese authorities for the warm welcome extended to the directors, and for the material and organizational arrangements that had enabled the session to be held in the best possible conditions.