Egypt

During the signing, Ibrahim Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) and former Prime Minister of Niger, and Yves Boudot, Director of AFD’s Sub-Saharan Africa Department, had the opportunity to discuss – in addition to ICT development in Africa – the headway made by the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), an initiative led by the African Union Commission, NEPAD and African Development Bank.

AFD’s long-standing support to NEPAD’s New Information Technologies initiatives

Since 2003, AFD has been supporting NEPAD’s activities in the telecoms sector (e-Africa Program) via an earmarked grant and the joint AFD-DBSA Project Preparation and Study Fund. These funds have cofinanced preparatory services for NEPAD’s ICT operations and have provided a residential technical assistant (on assignment since July 2009) to support the project for the UMOJANET (“umoja” means “union” in Swahili) broadband transmission virtual network.

This new financing has been delegated from the European Infrastructure Fund (EU-ITF) and follows on from an €850,000 AFD grant (allocated in 2006) to support NEPAD’s initiative to develop a continent-wide broadband transmission virtual network.

Umojanet is extending Uhurunet

The grant that has been allocated will finance the study program that results from the technical assistant’s research to finish off the design of the concept and of the UMOJANET network. The aim is to extend it to the 29 countries in North, West and Central Africa. This will complete both coverage on the continent and the UHURUNET project for Southern Africa.

This project aims to offer African operators a pan-African network of fiber-optic transmission channels. The resulting interconnection offer is required to meet criteria for comprehensiveness, guaranteed quality, open access, non-discrimination and lowest possible cost. The bid invitations will be published in February 2012.
AFD’s approach in supporting NEPAD’s activities is based on its research on promoting regional integration via the construction of major communication networks as a complement to the private sector. This strategy is in line with those adopted by other donors (World Bank, ADB, EIB, KfW, DBSA…). It previously prompted AFD to provide USD9.5m of cofinancing alongside other donors in 2007 for the Eastern African EASSy submarine cable project.

The signing of this additional financing for the implementation of the UMOJANET project should allow NPCA to present an effective implementation plan for a fiber-optic broadband network in West, Central and North Africa over the next 12 months. This will complete both coverage on the continent and the UHURUNET project for Southern Africa.

WADI is primarily active in the production of poultry and poultry feed. Since 2009, the group has diversified significantly based on synergies with its core business activities. Accordingly, the group moved into container glass manufacturing, olive growing and agriculture. This project will help WADI continue its expansion, notably through the construction of a tomato concentrate production plant, the development of its agricultural business and the construction of a second poultry feed plant.

This operation consolidates an existing partnership between WADI and PROPARCO, initiated by a $US 3m stake in WADI equity in 2009. The senior loan will enable the group to diversify its long-term sources of financing, not adequately available on the local market.

"In the current political and economic climate, investment needs in Egypt and more particularly in the agro-industry sector, are huge. PROPARCO is proud to support a major agro-industry player supplying top-quality food products to the local market. Its exemplary management of health, environmental and social issues makes it a partner of choice", explains Marie-Hélène Loison, Deputy CEO of PROPARCO. WADI contributes to disseminating high standards in food safety, especially with regard to limiting the spread of bird flu, by supplying healthy chicks to farmers and providing veterinary support.

“For us, this loan is a real vote of confidence from PROPARCO in light of our performance and expansion plans. It will endorse our desire to pursue our growth strategies in agriculture, poultry and other industries. PROPARCO’s financing will enable us to implement new production projects that will help uplift the Egyptian economy as it will help us create more job opportunities for Egyptian people », states Musa Freiji, Chairman of the Board of WADI. The group, which employs more than 3,700 people, has a considerable impact on local employment. Its expansion plan should help create further 2,000 jobs by 2014.

ABOUT

PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances investments that are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility.

►Download the Annual Report 2010 in French (PDF)

2010: a new year of growth to support development

With €832 million of budget resources allocated by the State, AFD provided €6.8 billion of project financing in 2010, i.e. an 11% rise on 2009. Its activity accounted for 28% of France’s official development assistance. AFD also paid back €104 million of dividends to the State.

Africa remains the priority with €2.1 billion of financing in 2010.

Two-thirds of the financing break down between infrastructure, urban development, productive sectors and agriculture.

In 2010, AFD’s financing will contribute to:

• Improving drinking water supply systems for 33 million people
• Getting 13.4 million children into primary school
• Upgrading or building transport hubs that will be used by 85.8 million passengers a year
• Supporting energy efficiency by saving 5 million tons of CO2 a year
• Providing access to electrification for 3 million people
• Allocating microfinance loans that will benefit just over 700 000 people
• Supporting agricultural or irrigation projects that will benefit 1.4 million people

2011: consolidation of economic model

Dov ZERAH, Chief Executive Officer of AFD: “AFD has experienced a veritable revolution over the past few years. It has become a key player in development with an activity that has tripled in five years. Today, a new phase is beginning with the consolidation of our model.”

In the coming years, AFD will be focusing its activity on three priority areas:

• Sub-Saharan Africa:  60% of resources allocated to AFD by the State will be earmarked for this region, particularly for the sectors of agriculture and agro-industries, infrastructure, education and health.
• The Mediterranean: AFD will be supporting the recent developments in the region by scaling up its operations in Mediterranean Basin countries, particularly in the productive and vocational training sectors.
• Emerging countries: AFD will be supporting these countries via loans with a low level of concessionality in order to encourage them to set out on a growth path that respects the environment more and is more inclusive.

Consolidating the model requires stabilizing AFD’s level of activity, which is expected to reach €8 billion by 2013. AFD set up a Risk Department in 2011 in order to improve risk management. It has also reinforced its human capital with 125 recruitments in 2010.

Dov ZERAH: “Beyond financing, it is our expertise that our partners are seeking. AFD will also be continuing to actively provide input to international debates through its knowledge production. We will, at the same time, be forging an increasing number of partnerships with other development players such as NGOs, local authorities, private foundations, or again multilateral banks. They help increase the outreach and effectiveness of our actions. In a globalized world, the only winning strategies are cooperation strategies.”

In 2011, AFD will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of its creation in 1941 by General de Gaulle. AFD will be marking the occasion by organizing events to meet the French public in order to raise their awareness of North-South issues and allow them to learn more about development results. A travelling open-air exhibition called “Objectif Développement”, designed in partnership with Magnum Photos, will be launched in Bordeaux on 21 May 2011. It will be travelling to all the major cities in France throughout the year.

 
Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a public development finance institution that has been working to fight poverty and support economic growth in developing countries and the French Overseas Communities for 70 years. It implements the development policy defined by the French Government.
With agencies in over 50 countries, AFD finances and supports projects that improve people’s living conditions, promote economic growth and protect the planet: getting children into school, support for farmers and small businesses, water supply, tropical forest preservation, fight against climate change…

The partnership between AFD and Plan Bleu dates back to November 2007.  It comes under the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development defined by 21 Mediterranean countries and the European Community during the Barcelona Convention in November 2001. This partnership focuses on core issues for the Mediterranean, such as climate change, water, energy, transport, tourism, as well as urban, rural and coastal areas.

With the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean, it has been possible to pool efforts and cooperation for sustainable development in the Mediterranean in order to support the priorities defined during the Summit of Heads of State and Government in Paris in July 2008: water, urban development, energy and transport.

The Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), to which both AFD and Plan Bleu contribute, will also make it possible to build synergies with the Center for Financial, Economic and Banking Studies (CEFEB), AFD’s corporate university which is also located in Marseille.