AFD and ADIE Launch a Study to Promote Entrepreneurship in New Caledonia

Despite the entrepreneurial dynamism of New Caledonia, there are still many barriers to entrepreneurship: difficulty in accessing credit, lack of support, inappropriate regulations in certain cases, misconceptions… It is for this reason that a number of workers start their own business without respecting labor market rules.

How many are there? What do they do? And why do they not formalize their activity? These are the questions that a study on informal entrepreneurship in the neighborhoods of Greater Nouméa aims to answer. It has been launched at the initiative of the Association for the Right to Economic Initiatives (ADIE) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
Indeed, the two partners, which have been working together in the French overseas territories for almost 20 years, signed an agreement on 25 October under which AFD has pledged to finance 50% of the cost of the study.

This study will provide a better understanding of the informal sector in New Caledonia. It will also identify the barriers that need to be removed as a matter of priority to encourage informal workers to set up their business. The results are expected in the spring.

ADIE is the main microfinance player in the French overseas territories and has been operating in New Caledonia since 1999. Its objective is to provide loans (microcredits) to finance the start-up or development of the economic activities of natural persons who do not have access to bank credit. These persons can also benefit from support to increase their chances of success.

In its 20 years of operation, ADIE has helped create or safeguard some 10,000 jobs on the island. It is currently supporting over 3,500 people there and is managing an outstanding loan amount of almost a billion CFP francs (€8.4 million).

AFD has been supporting ADIE since it started its operations in New Caledonia in 1999. This great story is set to continue in the coming years.