Rinchi
TechInAfrica – The President of the Republic of France has announced its support to the innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa through an initiative called Choose Africa that will be coordinated by the AFD Group and Proparco. The initiative worth 2.5 billion euros and used to fund potential Africans startups, VSEs, and SMEs by 2020. There will be approximately 10,000 companies from different stages of development supported by the fund.
In Africa, startups and SMEs are playing a key role in employment, innovation, and economic growth. These business enterprises are predicted to have an important role in employing the 450 million people from youth generation by 2050.
However, the capital fund is one of the challenges facing them, hindering their ambition and potential to their companies. According to statistics, there’s only 20% of SMEs in Africa get access to bank loans while 87% of startups don’t have access to financing.
Choose Africa initiative will uncover a broader financial chance for these startups and SMEs to develop their businesses and drive economic growth in Africa as a whole.
One euro will go to startups, small businesses, and SMEs through equity investments while the other 1.5 billion euros will go to credit access for SMEs via public and private local financial institutions, like banks, microfinance institutions, leasing companies, and so on.
Besides equity investments and access to credits for SMEs, Choose Africa also provides technical support for financial institutions in order to support activities in SMEs and for giving training to startup companies and entrepreneurs, and other activities in attempts to support the development of innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.
