Press Releases

Press Release

Paris, the 16th decembre 2010

Mauritania: power sector reform

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €20m loan to the Republic of Mauritania for its power sector reform.

The financial situation of Mauritania’s electricity company, Société mauritanienne d’électricité (SOMELEC) – the public operator in charge of this sector – weighs heavily on the country’s public finances. The IMF is supporting a recovery package for this sector in the framework of an economic and financial program. This financing will help stabilize the company and give it the resources it requires to offer a high-quality public electricity service.

Mauritania: developing education

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €6.7m grant to the Republic of Mauritania to support its National Education Sector Development Program (PNDSE).

Since 2001, Mauritania has been implementing a development strategy that covers the entire education sector, from the pre-primary level to higher education. Huge strides have been made in terms of children’s access to school, even though universal access to basic education has not yet been reached. This financing will support the second PNDSE. It will also help achieve universal primary education by 2020, strengthen secondary school coverage, diversify education curricula and, especially, improve teaching quality and performances in terms of the way the sector is managed and supervised. It will consequently support growth in the country and help fight poverty and inequalities and, at the same time, create considerable impacts on health, demography, citizenship, mobility and good governance.

Gabon: ARIZ II guarantee to BGFI for SME financing

AFD’s Board of Directors approved financing to guarantee loans allocated by the Banque Gabonaise et Française Internationale (BGFI). The maximum guarantee package expected to be allocated stands at FCFA3.250 billion (exchange value capped at €4.954m).

ARIZ is an insurance mechanism for the risk of financing private investment. The new ARIZ II mechanism comprises a partial portfolio guarantee that allows banks to develop their lending activity for SMEs and also helps create or maintain employment. In an oil-dominated economy, this guarantee will help support economic diversification and private sector development in Gabon. BGFI is the largest local bank in terms of the volume of its deposits and loans.

Benin: construction of a cement plant

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €30m loan to the cement manufacturer, Nouvelle Cimenterie du Bénin (NOCIBE), for the construction of a cement plant.

Benin’s cement industry is dynamic, with growth rates for demand estimated at an annual average of 8.5% for the past 10 years. The country suffers from a chronic lack of cement and the construction of a cement plant in the municipality of Adja Ouere, 110 km to the north of Cotonou, will provide an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons. The project, with a total cost of €260m, will guarantee a cement supply for Benin and the sub-region with an improved price and will consequently help develop infrastructure and support growth. Some 1,500 workers will be recruited during the construction phase, as well as 400 permanent employees. The cement plant will go beyond the most demanding social and environmental standards, thanks to investments for the social and environmental component.

Senegal: combating yellow fever

AFD’s Board of Directors approved €8m of financing for the Institut Pasteur of Dakar (FIPD) for the construction and equipment of a yellow fever vaccine production unit.

FIPD, founded in 1923 and for a long time a subsidiary of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, became a non-profit private foundation in 2010 under Senegalese law. The main aim of the project is to build a new yellow fever vaccine production unit in order to replace the current unit, which has become obsolete. The new unit will both increase the quantity of vaccines produced and guarantee their quality. It will therefore ensure that the demands of the main buyers – international entities – are met..

Senegal: new airport in Dakar

AFD’s Board of Directors approved €70.7m of financing (€70m loan and €700,000 grant) to the Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar (AIDB SA) for the construction of a new international airport.

The international airport of Dakar is the second main West African airport after Nigeria’s airport. The project comprises the construction of a new airport on the Diass site, 45 km to the east of Dakar, which will have a handling capacity of 3 million passengers and 50,000 tons of freight. Works started in 2007 and the airport should be commissioned in 2012. The project will support economic growth in Senegal by creating new economic development hubs and promoting tourism development..

Mali: agricultural development

AFD’s Board of Directors approved €15m of financing for the Republic of Mali for agricultural development in the Office du Niger area.

In Mali, the Office du Niger area is one of the rare sites to have economic prospects that make it possible to implement differentiated policies to combat poverty and support growth via a more integrated distribution of water resources and land potential. The project will increase agricultural production by creating public hydraulic infrastructure and making it available to economically viable agricultural operators over an area of between 5 and 6 ha. It is based on consolidating 1,900 ha of hydro-agricultural infrastructure, improving water management, and supporting the organization and professionalization of agricultural actors in the Ségou region.

Mali: sanitation in Bamako

AFD’s Board of Directors approved €20m of financing (€19m loan and €1m grant) to the Republic of Mali for sanitation and urban development in Bamako.

Mali’s capital has been experiencing unprecedented urban growth for fifteen years now. Urbanization has spread beyond the actual city itself in a spontaneous or disorganized organized manner and now includes neighboring villages. By 2025, there will be three million inhabitants in the urban area of Bamako. The project aims to improve living conditions for inhabitants in the capital by implementing an integrated sanitation program and building urban management capacities, with the objective of setting up an urban planning agency. It will have impacts on environmental preservation (by reducing illicit wastewater discharges), improving public health and the economic development of the country

Togo: budget support

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €3m grant to the Republic of Togo to support its economic and financial program for 2010.

Togo lies on the west coast of Africa and has a population of 6.7 million inhabitants. In the early 1990s, the country experienced a political and social crisis, which lasted about fifteen years and put a brake on its development process. Thanks to reforms conducted in the framework of a program to stabilize the country, Togo was able to benefit from debt alleviation under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. However, economic growth is slow in taking off. This new budget support provided by France will be earmarked to partly pay off the trade debt audited by the State.

Niger: budget support

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €3m grant to the Republic of Niger to support its economic and financial program for 2010.

In 2009, Niger experienced a constitutional crisis that caused the political situation to deteriorate. From an economic perspective, the country has been spared from the impacts of the global economic crisis, but its 2009/2010 crop year was extremely poor. The year ended with a 1.2% drop in GDP. The budget support provided by France will be used to pay off the State’s external debt.

Central African Republic: fitting out the Bangui air terminal

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €5m grant to the Central African Republic to fit out the Bangui M’poko air terminal and build a fence around the terminal.

Bangui M’poko airport is the only international airport in the Central African Republic and is essential to the economic development of this landlocked country. The project will ensure the airport complies with international aviation standards by bringing safety and security systems up to standard. This involves building a fence around the airport and improving operating conditions and comfort at the passenger terminal..

Namibia: ARIZ II to FNB Namibia for SME financing

AFD’s Board of Directors approved financing to guarantee loans allocated by the First National Bank of Namibia (FNB Namibia). The maximum guarantee package expected to be allocated stands at NAD95.756m (exchange value capped at €10m).

ARIZ is an insurance mechanism for the risk of financing private investment. The new ARIZ II mechanism comprises a partial portfolio guarantee that allows banks to develop their lending activity for SMEs. FNB Namibia is the leader in the country’s banking sector and has been financing SMEs since 2007. This financing will help develop the economic fabric and maintain and create employment in Namibia, a country with extremely high levels of economic inequality and unemployment..

Zambia: road corridor in Southern Africa

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €53.14m loan to the Republic of Zambia to rehabilitate the Zambian section of the Nacala road corridor, which links the capital Lusaka up with the Mozambican port of Nacala, via Malawi.

Zambia, a country which is landlocked by eight Southern African countries, must improve its road network in order to pursue its economic growth. The Nacala corridor is extremely important in terms of giving the country a place within its regional environment. The Zambian section of the project is 360 km long and will cost €250m. It is financed by several donors. This rehabilitation will reduce journey times and transport costs and improve road safety and agricultural production transport..

Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Uganda: home loans

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €70m loan to Home Finance Guarantors Africa (HFGA) to finance its reinsurance activity.

In Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Uganda, access to formal housing is a major challenge in terms of improving living conditions for populations. However, there is very little access to financing for these homes, whereas certain households have regular incomes that would allow them to borrow, but they cannot manage to get enough money together for the down payment. The project involves reproducing the activity of the Home Loan Guarantee Company (HLGC) in these four countries. In South Africa, HLGC is specialized in home loan insurance for low-income South African households. It will be developed by a financial holding company, Home Finance Guarantors Africa (HFGA) and a reinsurance company, Home Finance Guarantors Africa Reinsurance (HFGARe), both companies are registered in Mauritius. The aim of the guarantee program is to replace the personal down payment required from households by banks. It will use the expertise and skills of the promoters, which will make their staff available and operate their activities from South Africa. The project will benefit over 35,000 households during the first six years and will support the growth processes of local financial markets.

Rwanda: SME financing

AFD’s Board of Directors approved some €21m of financing to the Bank of Kigali (BoK): USD20m loan and an allocation to guarantee financing granted by BoK. The maximum guarantee package expected to be allocated stands at RWF4.9 billion (exchange value capped at €6m).

The project aims to provide BoK, the country’s largest commercial bank, with the resources and guarantees it requires to promote its medium-term investments for private sector businesses. The loan will mainly refinance medium- and long-term loans for the agriculture and manufacturing industry sectors. The ARIZ mechanism will guarantee 50% of the equipment loans, which have maturities of between one and five years for amounts ranging between €10,000 and €300,000. This financing aims to support economic growth, promote the development of the private sector and trade in the country and will help maintain and create employment..

Africa’s tropical rainforest countries: combating deforestation and climate change

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €4m grant to the Forest Carbon Partnership Fund (FCPF) Readiness Fund for the implementation of a mechanism to finance avoided deforestation in tropical rainforest developing countries

Deforestation and tropical rainforest degradation are responsible for roughly 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and are the second leading cause of climate change on the planet. The G8 summit held in Heiligendamm in June 2007 called on the World Bank to set up a fund to finance the reduction of deforestation and degradation of tropical rainforests. FCPF was consequently set up with contributions mainly coming from developed countries. It is made up of two mechanisms, the Readiness Fund and the Carbon Fund. The aim of the Readiness Fund is to support 37 countries in defining a strategy to combat deforestation and help them comply with the requirements of the financing mechanism. The six Central African countries and eight Sub-Saharan African countries are partners of the FCPF. The Carbon Fund will be used to make payments to five countries selected on the basis of the relevance of their strategies. This financing will make it possible to continue to integrate Central African countries into these mechanisms..

Madagascar : agricultural development

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €3m grant to the Republic of Madagascar for the implementation of agricultural development strategies.

Madagascar’s government needs to develop agricultural productivity in order to feed the population and face the massive arrival of young rural populations on the labor market. To achieve this, it has set out to define development strategies for services and agricultural and rural training. The project will develop services by consolidating the network of Agricultural Service Centers (ASCs) in three regions in the Center-East of the country, setting up a Regional Agricultural Development Fund in the region of Vakinankaratra and strengthening the Support Service for ASCs. It will support the development of the rural sector information system and the implementation of the National Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Training (SNFAR)..

Mauritius: ARIZ guarantee to Bank One Limited for SME financing

AFD’s Board of Directors approved financing to guarantee loans allocated by Bank One Limited. The maximum guarantee package expected to be allocated stands at MUR100m (exchange value capped at €2.6m).

ARIZ is an insurance mechanism for the risk of financing private investment. The new ARIZ II mechanism comprises a partial portfolio guarantee that allows banks to develop their lending activity for SMEs and also helps create or maintain employment. Bank One Limited came into existence with the acquisition of the State-owned bank, First City Bank, in 2008 by the Mauritian industrial group, CIEL, and the Kenyan bank, I&M.

Indian Ocean: risk prevention and natural disaster management

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €2m grant to the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) for a regional project for risk prevention and natural disaster management in the southwest region of the Indian Ocean.

The islands in the southwest of the Indian Ocean are exposed to a whole series of risks that can cause major disasters. The project, with a total cost of €6.5m, aims to reduce the loss of human lives and damage to social, economic and environmental goods caused by natural disasters. It comprises a global strategy, actions in the field, actions to support the organization and operating of IOC and a risk probability analysis. It is a structuring project that will benefit disadvantaged populations and local economies.

Morocco: rural roads

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €60m loan to the Road Financing Fund, Caisse pour le Financement Routier (CFR), to finance the second National Rural Roads Program (PNRR).

Morocco’s authorities support structuring actions in rural areas, particularly rural road programs which, by providing widespread access in the country and opening up areas for populations, improve access to social services and facilitate trade. The program will build or develop 15,500 km of rural roads and will consequently open up areas for some three million people.

Tunisia: extension of the natural gas network

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €150m loan to the national gas and electricity utility, Société Tunisienne de Gaz et d’Electricité (STEG), to extend Tunisia’s natural gas network.

The aim of replacing oil product consumption (heavy fuels, LPG and diesel oil) with natural gas, particularly for domestic use, is to strengthen Tunisia’s energy security and economic competitiveness and reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and pressure on public finance. The loan will finance the first phase of the program to extend the gas transport network led by STEG. This program covers the period 2009-2016 and will build 1,713 km of gas pipelines and supply 100 new municipalities and main industrial sites for a total cost of €429m. At program completion, 91% of the urban population will be covered and over 220,000 new households will be connected..

Egypte : modernizing irrigation in the Nile Delta

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €35m loan to the Republic of Egypt to improve plot irrigation on the Nile Delta.

With increasing pressure on water resources, the Government’s priorities are to improve the way the Nile’s water is managed and increase efficiency in agricultural water use. The project has a total cost of €180m and is cofinanced by the World Bank and Egyptian Government. It aims to modernize the quaternary irrigation networks (marwa), strengthen power grids, improve plots (leveling, tilling…) and provide advisory services to agricultural operators and project owners. It will increase agricultural incomes for 140,000 families, improve efficiency in water use on 200,000 feddans (84,000 ha) and ensure there is a more equitable access to quality irrigation water by reducing conflicts among farmers.

Egypt: financing small businesses

AFD’s Board of Directors approved €80.5m of financing (€80m loan and €500,000 grant) to the Republic of Egypt to refinance its loans to small businesses.

Egypt’s 2.4 million micro and small businesses account for 99% of the total number of businesses in the country and over two-thirds of employment. These businesses are extremely unhomogeneous and have difficulties to access banks loans. The project aims to support the development of a range of mesofinance banking services tailored to their needs and help build their capacities. It will be implemented by the Social Fund for Development (SFD), a public fund mandated by the Government to apply the national development policy for micro and small businesses. The average loan amount provided by this financing will be EGP50,000 (€6,200) and the loans will have three-year maturities. It will benefit 65,000 businesses..

Palestinian Territories: water and sanitation

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €10m grant to the Palestinian Authority to improve water and sanitation services in the district of Bethlehem.

Poor service quality and high water loss rates (40% in 2010) are caused by the poor state of the operator’s – the Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (WSSA) – water supply and distribution infrastructure and its limited technical and financial capacities. The project involves rehabilitating and optimizing the water network, rehabilitating sanitation infrastructure and building the capacities of WSSA. It will improve living conditions for populations in the area (112,000 people by 2017), both health wise and economically, and will optimize the use of available water resources.

Syria: water and sanitation in Damascus

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €30m loan to the Republic of Syria to improve water and sanitation services in the neighborhoods of Damascus.

In 60 years, the population of Damascus has increased ninefold from 500,000 to some 4.5 million inhabitants. The quality of the groundwater that supplies outlying neighborhoods has worsened and there is an extremely high leakage rate on distribution networks, which sometimes reaches 40%. The project concerns populations living in neighborhoods located to the east of the city, mainly Zamalka and Kafar Batna, i.e. 340 000 beneficiaries. It will improve drinking water supplies to these populations in terms of both quality and quantity, strengthen sanitation services and support institutional developments in the sector.

Mexico: combating climate change

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €300m loan to the Republic of Mexico to finance its policy to combat climate change.

Mexico, an emerging country with 110 million inhabitants, accounts for 1.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is the 13th largest emitter. The Government set out to combat climate change very early on and is implementing a voluntarist national strategy to combat these gas emissions. This loan aims to support Government efforts to implement its climate plan, particularly in the forest sector. It will notably have economic effects thanks to low-carbon growth, which will preserve the country’s natural capital, particularly forests.

Brazil: sustainable development in Toledo

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €9.463m loan to the municipality of Toledo for a sustainable environmental program.

Toledo, a city with 116,000 inhabitants founded in 1952, is a regional hub in the western area of Parana State. Despite strong demographic growth, the city has managed to maintain a remarkable quality of services and infrastructure and offers a comprehensive and diversified range of public services. Its environmental development program aims to preserve the local environment, combat climate change and preserve biodiversity. The project comprises various components (soil conservation, water resources preservation, solid waste management, urban biodiversity, urban mobility…), which have impacts on the fight against climate change and protecting biodiversity and ecologically sensitive areas. It will protect the local environment and have positive impacts on both the economy and the population.

Brazil: sanitation in secondary towns

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €100m loan to Companhia Catarinense de Agua e saneamento (CASAN) for a sanitation program in secondary towns in the State of Santa Catarina.

The State of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, is one of the most developed in the country, yet is paradoxically sorely lagging in terms of sanitation: only 15% of the urban population has access to collective sanitation, compared to the national average of 50%. Its government aims to pursue a voluntarist catching-up policy, thanks to investments made by CASAN, a semi-public company which manages water and sanitation services in most of the municipalities in the State. The program involves creating wastewater collection and treatment systems for 260,000 inhabitants spread out over 8 municipalities, with 500 km of networks and 9 wastewater treatment plants. It will have impacts on the economy (tourism, employment…), the environment (wastewater discharges avoided), as well as health and social impacts (health and living conditions for populations).

Dominican Republic: productive investments by private enterprises

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €30m loan to Banco de Reservas to finance private enterprises’ productive investment projects.

The State-owned bank, Banco de Reservas, is the largest commercial bank in the Dominican Republic. This financing will help develop operations to support private enterprises, and will contribute to developing the production apparatus and employment. It will also help increase GDP and develop exports and will have impacts in terms of improving the environmental and social quality of the projects that are financed.

Latin America: financing green and inclusive growth

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €200m loan to Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) to refinance loans to support green and inclusive growth.

CAF is a multilateral institution mainly held by 18 Latin American countries. Its mission is to promote sustainable development and the regional integration of its member countries. The credit line aims to support sustainable investments in basic services for populations living in areas where both AFD and CAF operate, particularly in the energy, urban transport and water sectors. This financing will include a partnership that will allow both Institutions to have exchanges on their practices and experiences. The project will support economic development in urban regions and increase the competitiveness of the relevant areas by helping to improve transport, mobility and the exchange of goods, services and persons. It will have positive impacts on the climate and will improve access to basic services for populations.

Afghanistan: support for livestock raising activities

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €2.5m grant to the Republic of Afghanistan for a project to support livestock raising activities.

85% of Afghanistan’s population lives in rural areas and agricultural GDP accounts for roughly half of national GDP (excluding opium). The main economic sectors need to be rebuilt in the aftermath of 25 years of conflict. The State has set out to implement a strategy to diversify and develop alternative agricultural industries to poppy cultivation. The plan is to turn the State farms in Guzergha and Qarhga, which are located in the outskirts of Kabul, into technical support centers for industries managed by professionals. The project will upgrade technical centers, help develop local expertise and support professional structuring in order to create autonomous production and marketing industries for dairy produce and farmed fish...

Afghanistan: helping to reduce maternal and infant mortality

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €5.7m grant to the Aga Khan Foundation for a project to reduce maternal and infant mortality.

Although reconstruction efforts have improved the health status of Afghanistan’s population, indicators remain among the lowest in the world, particularly those for maternal and infant mortality. The Province of Badakhshan, a remote area in the north-east of the country, is in this respect one of the least well equipped. The project aims to strengthen the capacities of the region’s personnel and health system. Training for nurses will be developed and the capacities of different categories of health personnel, particularly midwives, will be strengthened. AKF, the Afghan branch of the Aga Khan Foundation, will supervise implementation, which will be managed by the project operators, Aga Khan Health Services and the Aga Khan University, as well as the French Medical Institute for Children in Kabul.

Pakistan: hydropower plant

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €68m loan to the Republic of Pakistan for the construction of the Jaggran-II hydropower plant.

Pakistan is suffering from an energy crisis which causes extensive load-shedding. During the summer of 2010, the power deficit reached almost 5,200 MW, while the installed capacity stands at almost 20,000 MW. The project will help put an end to this crisis and combat climate change. It will increase hydropower generation in the country and restore a continuous supply to the Muzaffarabad region. It involves constructing a run-of-river dam and commissioning a 48 MW power plant which will generate an annual production of 212 GWh of electricity. This project will support the economic development of Pakistan and improve living conditions for its population. It will avoid 100,000 tons of CO2 emissions every year..

India: forest and biodiversity conservation

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €54m loan to the Republic of India to conserve and sustainably exploit forest areas in the State of Assam.

Assam is home to inestimable biodiversity assets and, along with the other northeastern Indian States, is one of the world’s thirty-four biodiversity hotspots. However, these forests are under threat from overexploitation and Assam’s forest areas declined by 66 km² between 2004 and 2006. The project aims to sustainably manage these areas via integrated and participative planning. It involves the institutional strengthening of the Assam Forest Department, as well as the implementation of a strategic plan, the sustainable and transparent management of forests and protected areas and the development of income-generating goods and services. Its main impacts will be economic (wood production industry), environmental (forest management, biodiversity protection…) and social (improvement of living conditions for local populations, tourism development…).

India: drinking water in Jodhpur

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €73m loan to the Republic of India to improve the City of Jodhpur’s drinking water supply.

Major water conveyance projects for the economic development of India were implemented right from independence. Rajiv Gandhi Lift is one of the many regional systems that were set up. This infrastructure supplies the City of Jodhpur (one million inhabitants), four smaller towns and 930 villages. The project involves improving water services for populations while, at the same time, developing a low-carbon approach that aims to limit the impacts the required development of infrastructure and urban services will have on climate change. To achieve this, the project first aims to control greenhouse gas emissions via a reorganization of the system and the implementation of measures in terms of energy efficiency and water and, second, by improving services via an increased capacity and controlled extension, the implementation of measures in terms of energy efficiency and water, and improved service management.

Sri Lanka: drinking water in Jaffna

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €35m loan to the Republic of Sri Lanka to create a drinking water service on the Jaffna Peninsula and in the district of Kilinochchi.

Jaffna, a coastal city located on a peninsula 400 km to the north of Colombo, is the capital of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. In the 1990s, it was one of the strongholds of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and suffered heavily from the armed conflict between LLTE and the Government, which lasted 27 years: tens of thousands of people displaced, infrastructure destroyed, low level of investments... Since the conflict ended in May 2009, one of the Sri Lankan Government’s priorities has been to develop the Northern Province.

The project involves creating water infrastructure (water intakes, raw water supply, treatment plant and drinking water supply) and will provide access to drinking water for some 300,000 people. It will also support the national operator, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, particularly in terms of developing vocational training.

Climate: financing projects to combat climate change

AFD’s Board of Directors approved a €100m loan to the Interact Climate Change Facility SA (ICCF) and a €10,000 equity investment in this Facility in order to finance projects that have a positive impact on the climate.

ICCF is a Facility set up in partnership with EIB and European bilateral financial institutions to contribute to private sector investment in clean energy generation or in the energy efficiency sector. Its aim is to finance projects in all Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries. The principle of the Facility is to give these institutions the possibility to raise their capacity to finance climate projects by benefiting from a partial refinancing of their loan, via ICCF.

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Etablissement public, l’Agence Française de Développement (AFD) agit depuis près de soixante-dix ans pour combattre la pauvreté et favoriser le développement dans les pays du Sud et dans l’Outre-mer. Elle met en œuvre la politique définie par le Gouvernement français.

Présente sur le terrain dans plus de 50 pays et dans 9 collectivités d’Outre-mer, l’AFD finance et accompagne des projets qui améliorent les conditions de vie des populations, soutiennent la croissance économique et protègent la planète : scolarisation, santé maternelle, appui aux agriculteurs et aux petites entreprises, adduction d’eau, préservation de la forêt tropicale, lutte contre le réchauffement climatique…

En 2009, l’AFD a consacré plus de 6,2 milliards d’euros au financement d’actions dans les pays en développement et émergents et en faveur de l’Outre-mer. Ils ont notamment contribué à la vaccination de 1,8 million d’enfants, l’amélioration de l’approvisionnement en eau potable pour 7,3 millions de personnes et le soutien à 900 000 emplois dans le secteur productif. Les projets d’efficacité énergétique sur la même année permettront d’économiser près de 5 millions de tonnes de CO2 par an.

www.afd.fr

Press release - 15 12 10

Philippe VAN DE MAELE, Chairman of ADEME, and Dov ZERAH, Chief Executive Officer of Agence Française de Développement (AFD), signed a new three-year Partnership Framework Agreement on 15 December 2010. It will strengthen the partnership between AFD and ADEME to support concrete actions on energy, waste and the fight against climate change in three priority geographical areas: Sub-Saharan Africa, Mediterranean countries and the French Overseas Communities.

Through this agreement, the two agencies aim to strengthen their partnership in order to offer a comprehensive range of French services by building synergies between expertise, project financing and technical assistance. AFD and ADEME will be meeting this objective by drawing on the complementary nature of their skills, operating methods and economic instruments.

Actions to support the main orientations of the French cooperation policy

The framework agreement sets out the main areas for the two institutions' operations in Sub-Saharan Africa, Mediterranean countries and the French Overseas Communities.

• Access to energy: a focus will be to develop renewable energies and support rural electrification in Africa.
• Promoting renewable energies and energy efficiency in the Mediterranean: the Union for the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean Solar Plan  will be the priority framework for operations.
• Promoting sustainable cities: French consultants will be made available for city planning and management (environmental approach to urban planning, energy-climate processes).
• Support for the definition and implementation of States’ and the French Overseas Communities' policies to combat climate change: ADEME will provide its technical assistance for the definition of national and regional climate plans.
• Cooperation in the French Overseas Communities in several sectors, such as sustainable regional development, energy efficiency, building partnerships in the waste sector...

This commitment will take different forms depending on the topic area:

• Information exchanges between the two agencies.
• The development of a joint strategy in the areas for partnerships set out in the framework agreement.
• Joint management or financing of studies and research.
• The implementation of joint, coordinated or concerted operations.
• Mutual provision of expertise.
• Etc.

Extensive collaboration since March 2007 

These initial operations will be continued and extended thanks to the signing of this new framework agreement.

• Support for the development of a regional policy for access to energy and energy efficiency in West Africa via ECOWAS (Economic Community of West. African States) and WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union).
• Support for training for French-speaking African negotiators participating in conventions on climate change.
• Support for the implementation of thermal and energy regulation in buildings in Morocco and Tunisia. 
• Project for geothermal power generation in Dominica and electricity interconnection with Guadeloupe and Martinique.

These initial operations will be continued and extended thanks to the signing of this new framework agreement.

ADEME IN BRIEF
The French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) is a public establishment  under the supervision of three ministries: the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and the Digital Economy and the Ministry of Higher Education and         Research. It participates in the implementation of public policies in the fields of environment, energy and sustainable development. ADEME makes its expertise and consultancy skills available to businesses, local communities, public   authorities and the general public in order to help them develop their environmental processes. It also  supports project financing, from the research to implementation phases, in the following sectors: waste  management, soil preservation, energy efficiency and renewable energies, air quality and noise abatement. www.ademe.fr . 
 

AFD IN BRIEF
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 almost 70 years. It implements the policy defined by the French Government. With offices in more than 50 countries and 9 French Overseas Communities, AFD finances and supports projects that improve people’s living conditions, promote economic growth and protect the planet. 
In 2009, AFD approved 71 projects that will help fight climate change for an amount totalling €2.4 billion. These projects will save 5 million tons of CO2 every year. Total commitments for the period 2005-2009 reach €5.4 billion, making AFD one of the main donors working in the field of climate change.   www.afd.fr

Etienne Viard joined Agence Française de Développement in 1988 as a financial analyst in the Corporate Assessment Division.

Two years later, he was appointed Accounting Director at AFD's Finance Department. In 1993, he went on to become Head of the Management Control Division within the newly created General Control Department.

He joined PROPARCO for the first time in 1999 as Investment Director and became Deputy CEO
in 2003.

In July 2008, after nine years at PROPARCO, AFD's CEO asked Etienne Viard to head the Group's Mediterranean and Middle East Department.  
Etienne Viard was appointed CEO of PROPARCO by the Board of Directors on 1 December 2010.

PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and by private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to promote private investment in emerging and developing countries in support of growth, sustainable development and reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances operations which are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. It invests in a geographical area encompassing major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly Africa. PROPARCO offers a full range of financial tools tailored to the needs of private investors in developing countries (loans, equity, guarantees and financial engineering). In 2009, PROPARCO allocated €1.1bn for eighty projects in over thirty countries.

Press contact: Benoît Verdeaux verdeauxb@proparco.fr 01 53 44 37 50 / 06 42 11 38 02

There are currently 33 million people living with the virus, including over 20 million in Sub-Saharan Africa. The number of infections has fallen by 19% since the epidemic reached its peak in 1999. In 2009, there were 2.6 million new infections, including some 400,000 newborns infected by their mothers. 1.8 million people died of AIDS-related diseases in that same year.

France has underscored the importance it gives to the fight against AIDS by becoming the biggest contributor to UNITAID and the second largest to the Global Fund. This priority was reaffirmed by the French President at the United Nations General Assembly last September, where he announced a 20% increase for the Global Fund. 
AFD is supporting France's voluntarist policy: between 2006 and 2012, a total of some €30m will be earmarked to combat AIDS in roughly ten countries, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

By building the capacities of national governments in developing countries, AFD is helping to ensure that conditions are created for an optimal implementation of financing provided by multilateral actors, such as the Global Fund or UNITAID.

By financing technical assistance and operators such as the ESTHER Public Interest Group, the French Red Cross, or again NGOs such as Sidaction or Médecins du Monde, and more generally French and international experts, our financing helps strengthen health systems, improve the organization of national programs to combat AIDS, provide training for health professionals, consolidate hospital partnerships, etc. 

AFD's operating methods are highly innovative: its partnerships are specifically designed to ensure that all populations in need of drugs, prevention programs and education will have access to them. It completes the financing provided by multilateral donors.

Our action in South Africa is, in this respect, symbolic. This country is one of the worst affected by this scourge in the world. AFD is meeting the commitment made by the French President during his visit to the Cape Province in February 2008 by financing two projects:

• Support to the Province's National Department of Health (€1.2m) for the refurbishment/extension of two health care centers in order to raise their capacity to manage AIDS patients.
• Support to the Desmond Tutu Foundation (€300,000). This foundation is one of the oldest organizations working to combat the virus in South Africa. It is one of the very first to have introduced antiretroviral therapy. In addition to patient management, the Foundation has developed activities for research, training for health professionals and social workers, and AIDS prevention for teenagers.  AFD is supporting one of its flagship programs, which was presented by Dr. Bekker and entails setting up mobile advice and voluntary screening units: the "Tutu Testers". This program, thanks to an innovative strategy, which involves giving advice and doing voluntary screening at the grassroots level, has screened over 20,000 people since it was launched in 2008.

Spectacular progress has been made in the fight to eradicate AIDS in recent years, particularly by reducing mother-to-child transmissions. Yet considerable efforts still need to be made. This is why I want AFD to continue to support this cause.

AAF investment thesis primarily lies in food production, processing and distribution in cereals, livestock farming, dairy, fruit and vegetables, crop protection, logistics, fertilizers, seeds, edible oils, smallholders and agri services. To achieve optimal diversification within the sector, the Fund will invest across the value chain (from primary production to processing and tertiary services) and pan-Africa. The Fund will make investments of up to US$ 20 million per Portfolio Company, targeting entities with robust management and growth prospects. The Fund aims to support private sector companies that implement strategies to enhance and diversify food production and distribution in Africa by providing equity funding including strengthening the management and modernisation of the agricultural sector on the continent.

To enhance its impact on development, the Fund has deployed two powerful instruments: a dedicated SME sub fund of a target size of US$ 60 million (initially US$ 30 million) and a Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) of €uro 10 million, to support outgrower schemes in large companies and business
development services in SMEs.

The support to AAF, whose total target size is US$ 300 million, is part of a coordinated response of a pool of European DFIs, with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération économique (Proparco) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); on one hand and, on the other hand, African DFIs, with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the ECOWAS Bank of Investment and Development (EBID), as limited liability partner investors. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will manage the Technical Assistance Facility for which core funding has been committed by the European Commission with the contribution of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Italian Cooperation.To fight African agribusiness and agriculture’s chronic undercapitalisation, the Fund is equipped with an innovative mechanism designed to attract private sector capital. Lead investors such as AFD and AECID, together with BOAD and EBID have pooled their shares into a first loss risk taking mechanism that will provide private investors into AAF with an accelerated return. Phatisa are the Fund Managers, which comprises a team of seasoned professionals with a depth of experience in both private equity, fund management and the agricultural sector across Africa. Phatisa is led by Duncan Owen and Stuart Bradley, with Valentine Chitalu as its Chairman. The Group has offices in Mauritius, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa and in the process of being established in West Africa.

The Fund will also operate according to a Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Manual that features an environmental and social risk management system, guidelines for an optimal use of the technical assistance facility and, for the first time in agribusiness private equity, a Code of Conduct for Land Acquisition and Land Use in agricultural and agribusiness projects to prevent unsustainable practices.
“With food security such a crucial issue across Africa, the AAF will make equity finance available for
African agricultural companies,” says Valentine Chitalu, Chairman of Phatisa Group. “We welcome all the investors’ significant contributions to Africa's economic development and long-term prosperity."
During the first closing procedures, Duncan stressed that “the commercial success of this new African food fund is critical for both the Fund’s international investors and for the future of agriculture as a whole in Africa.”

AAF Promoters were advised by a legal team led by Gide Loyrette Nouel (Stéphane Puel, partner and Julien Vandenbussche) comprising Africa Legal (Lance Roderick, partner and Louise Campion) and Muhammad Uteem Chambers.

Contacts:

Phatisa
Izelle le Roux-Owen, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Email: izelleleroux@phatisa.com
 

AFD
Laure Weisgerber
E-mail: weisgerberl@afd.fr