Mrs. Minafou Fanta COULIBALY-KONE is the sixth Managing Director of the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE). She was appointed for a four (04) year term at the head of the Fund following an international recruitment process, by decision of the Board of Governors, the Fund’s supreme body bringing together the Finance Ministers of member states, in December 2016 in Dakar.
The first woman from Côte d’Ivoire to occupy this position, Ms. Coulibaly is a financial expert with an HEC degree and a rich professional career spanning almost 20 years in the banking, financial and economic sectors, where she has distinguished herself by her capacity for hard work, her integrity and her personal rigor. Previously Special Advisor to the Ivorian Minister for the Economy and Finance, the new Managing Director will bring her wealth of experience to bear on the challenges of the Fund’s strategic repositioning and growth, signs under which she places her mandate.
Tell us about FAGACE
The Fonds Africain de Garantie et de Coopération Economique (FAGACE) is an international financial institution specialized in promoting public and private investment. Since its creation in 1977, the Fund has mobilized over 1,500 billion CFA francs for the benefit of the economies of its fourteen (14) member states, through bank loan guarantees and other interventions.
FAGACE is a pioneer in the field of bank guarantees in Africa. Over the past forty years, the Fund has demonstrated its resilience, staying the course and rising to the challenges. Today, it is embarking on a new era of transformation, to better align itself with developments in the financial market and the expectations of African small and medium-sized enterprises. That’s why, as soon as I took over as Managing Director in 2017, major steps were taken to bring about structural changes and relaunch the Fund.
You’ve been at the helm of FAGACE since January 2017, what has been your priority during your 1st year in office?
The top priority was to reach agreement with our member states, on a new strategic framework. We had to redefine the Fund’s objectives and strategic thrusts in light of the changes our environment was undergoing, and then in line with our resources, implement policies that would enable these objectives to be achieved.
With this in mind, we felt it essential to re-establish trust between ourselves and our partner institutions by settling our liabilities, thus enabling us to resume our activities with them.
All the more so as our new strategy is based on a close relationship with banks for the distribution of our products. Since the end of 2016
arrangements have been made for the settlement of amounts called in by these Institutions, and the process is continuing.
What is your roadmap for FAGACE?
The new Strategic Plan approved by the Board of Governors for the period 2017-2020, enshrines the launch of FAGACE 2.0. It is based on three fundamental pillars: a refocusing of the product offering around guarantees for SMEs, with product distribution exclusively through banks and SFDs; a strengthening of the Fund’s governance, with a renewed Board of Directors and stronger committees; and finally, a prudential framework in line with international standards.
What will now change in the relationship between banks and FAGACE?
The new partnership with the banks is based on a frank commitment by FAGACE and a review of operating procedures. This means regular and transparent financial communication, a risk management approach, a guarantee review within no more than 10 days, and an efficient default management procedure with prompt settlements.
All these measures send out a strong signal to our technical and financial partners, not only to ensure fruitful cooperation, but also to respond more effectively to the ever-increasing needs of member states’ economies, through greater support for their SMEs.
Our vision for 2020 is to make FAGACE a strong, sustainable institution, a key player in the African guarantee market, the preferred partner of financial institutions over the long term, and a Fund that contributes to supporting responsible, sustainable growth in our countries.
