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SOGEFOM: A guarantee facility that improves access to bank credit for micro and small enterprises
SOGEFOM (Overseas Guarantee Fund Management Company) is a guarantee fund dedicated to improving access to bank credit for very small and small enterprises. The French Development Agency (AFD) is the majority shareholder (58.7%), alongside all the banks operating in the French Pacific territories—New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, and French Polynesia. AFD is also responsible for the fund’s operational, administrative, and financial management.
Objectives
SOGEFOM provides, at the request of its shareholder banks, a partial guarantee on loans granted to micro and small enterprises. The guarantee can cover short-term working capital loans as well as medium- and long-term investment loans.
The guarantee supports business creation, development, restructuring, and ownership transfer through short-term financing (overdrafts, seasonal loans, bridge loans), and guarantees for investment and restructuring loans.
The guarantee period generally matches the term of the underlying loan, with a maximum duration of 16 years for investment loans. It typically covers 50% to 70% of the loan amount, and may reach up to 80% in the case of newly created microenterprises.
The French government plays a key role in the system by providing capital allocations. These are leveraged through multiplier coefficients to expand SOGEFOM’s guarantee capacity.
Am I eligible?
SOGEFOM facilitates access to credit for private enterprises that:
- have fewer than 250 employees,
- generate less than €50 million in annual turnover,
- operate in sectors other than financial intermediation, real estate development, or property rental.
The guarantee can cover the following types of bank financing:
- short-term loans (working capital loans, seasonal loans, bridge loans),
- medium- or long-term investment loans,
- lease financing,
- restructuring loans.
To find out about our solutions tailored to your needs
Coverage: 50% to 70% of the loan amount, up to 80% for newly created microenterprises.
Duration: Matches the loan term, up to 16 years for investment loans.
Ineligible entities
The following are not eligible:
- public-sector companies (where the majority of capital is directly or indirectly held by public entities),
- enterprises engaged in financial intermediation,
- real estate development or rental firms (except sociétés civiles immobilières financing property rented to a partner company),
- borrowers, guarantors, or shareholders listed under previously defaulted guarantees,
- companies for which SOGEFOM has previously activated a guarantee due to default, unless the full amount has been reimbursed.
