A delegation from the Fonds Africain de Garantie et de Coopération Économique (FAGACE), led by its General Secretary Mr Basile TCHAKOUNTE, was in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from October 02 to 07, 2023.
Since its creation in 1977, the Fonds Africain de Garantie et de Coopération Economique has been working alongside its fourteen (14) member states to facilitate their access to financial services and support the growth of their economies.
This mission is part of FAGACE’s promotional days in its member countries, and aims to strengthen the guarantee institution’s operations in Côte d’Ivoire.
To this end, meetings were organized with banks and Sociétés de Gestion et d’Intermédiation (SGI) at the PULLMAN Hotel in Abidjan, then with the private sector at the headquarters of the Côte d’Ivoire Chamber of Commerce and Industry on October 03, 2023, to present FAGACE’s operating mode and its advantages.
The meeting with banks and SGIs, chaired by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance and represented by the Deputy Cabinet Director, Mr Vassogo BAMBA, provided an opportunity not only to present the “new FAGACE” to Ivorian financial partners, which has achieved appreciable standards, but also to discuss appropriate risk-sharing mechanisms.
During the “Finance meet-up” with economic operators, presentations focused on the opportunities for access to credit offered by the Fund to private sector players, in response to the need for guarantees from financial institutions. On this occasion, a partnership agreement was signed with the Côte d’Ivoire Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI – CI), represented by its President, Mr. Touré Faman. The aim of this partnership is to develop, in the short term, the synergies needed to boost the financing of the economy and contribute to the country’s sustainable and inclusive growth through its SME fabric.
Alongside these plenary meetings, bilateral meetings were held between the Fund delegation and the management of several financial institutions (Banks and SGI), to explore mutually beneficial avenues of cooperation for greater impact on the economy. During these meetings, Ivorian financial institutions and economic operators all agreed on the need for a guarantor such as FAGACE in the private sector financing scheme. This mission thus marks a new turning point in relations between FAGACE and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.
As a reminder, FAGACE has mobilized more than 256 billion FCFA in Côte d’Ivoire to date, thanks to its various interventions, notably in the form of guarantees, for the benefit of strategic sectors of the economy such as agriculture, agro-industry, industry, telecommunications and energy. This level of intervention, while appreciable, needs to be increased in view of the Fund’s ambitions and the dynamism of the market.
