Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, March 20, 2025 – To boost access to finance for thousands of smaller businesses in Côte d’Ivoire, with a focus on those owned and led by women, IFC today announced two investments and one advisory project with leading banking groups Société Générale Côte d’Ivoire (SGCI), Société Ivoirienne de Banque (SIB) and Bridge Bank Group Côte d’Ivoire (BBGCI).
IFC’s Vice President for Africa, Sérgio Pimenta, signed the three partnerships during a visit to Côte d’Ivoire to underscore the institution’s commitment to supporting the country’s private sector development. The three projects are:
· A risk-sharing facility (RSF) of up to XOF 16.3 billion ($25.8 million) with SGCI to cover 50 percent of the risk up to XOF32.6 billion ($51.6 million equivalent) on a portfolio of loans to SMEs. IFC, as implementing partner of We-Fi (or “IFC We-Fi"), will provide a performance-based incentive (PBI) to motivate the Bank to achieve agreed performance targets related to lending to women-owned and women-led businesses (WSMEs) in Cote d’Ivoire. In parallel, IFC will provide advisory services to support SGCI in making optimal use of the RSF, thus enabling the bank to provide an estimated 450 SME loans by 2029, providing these companies with vital means to grow and create more jobs. At least 25 percent of the loan disbursements will be earmarked for WSMEs.
“For SGCI, supporting women's entrepreneurship goes far beyond financial issues. For us, it is an economic and social imperative, essential to building inclusive growth,'' said Patrick Blas, Managing Director of Société Générale Côte d’Ivoire.
· An RSF of up to XOF 6 billion (about $10 million equivalent) with SIB to cover 50 percent of the risk up to XOF 12 billion ($20 million equivalent) on a portfolio of loans to SMEs, including WSMEs, in the trade, water and sanitation, information and communication, transport and storage, agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors in Côte d’Ivoire. IFC We-Fi will provide a PBI to incentivize the Bank to achieve pre-agreed targets related to lending to WSMEs in the country.
“This partnership with IFC is a strategic milestone for SIB, reinforcing our commitment to supporting the Ivorian economy, particularly SMEs. In a global context of transformation where resilience and innovation are critical, this risk-sharing mechanism allows us to amplify our impact by facilitating access to tailored financing for SMEs, including those managed by women. We are not just financiers but committed partners, determined to support entrepreneurs in their sustainable development journeys. As a subsidiary of Attijariwafa bank group, we are driven by a vision of shared progress, fully integrating ESG criteria into our actions to co-build a prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable future for project leaders with partners like IFC,” said Mohamed El Ghazi, Managing Director of SIB.
· An advisory program that will strengthen BBGCI’s SME banking model, expand its product offering and improve its operational efficiency to increase its lending to SMEs, including those owned by women. This advisory support complements IFC’s $40 million risk-sharing facility with BBGCI announced in July 2024 that is supporting an estimated additional 2,100 SME loans by 2028.
“Today, Ivorian women entrepreneurs represent a true engine of economic growth. However, they continue to face structural obstacles, particularly regarding access to financing, which is often hindered by gender stereotypes. At Bridge Bank Group Cote d'Ivoire, we are fully committed to reversing this trend by developing specific support mechanisms: preferential financing solutions, tailored assistance, and initiatives aimed at enhancing their capacities. Investing in women’s entrepreneurship is essential for accelerating the country’s economic transformation and promoting more equitable development,” said Ehouman Kassi, Managing Director of Bridge Bank Group Côte d’Ivoire.
"These projects underscore IFC's deepening commitment to inclusive economic growth and development in Côte d’Ivoire and will ease access to finance for smaller businesses in the country, helping them grow, create jobs, and enter new markets,” said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for Africa.
According to the WBG Enterprise Surveys, 78 percent of SMEs in Côte d'Ivoire cite financing constraints as a major obstacle to their growth. The partnerships announced today will help address this challenge, boosting opportunities to driving economic growth.
All three projects are part of IFC’s Small Loans Guarantee Program European Commission/Private Sector Window (SLGP EC/PSW or the Program), a programmatic approach to de-risk and scale-up financing for SMEs in eligible countries. The SLGP EC/PSW benefits from a pooled first loss guarantee provided by the EC via European Fund for Sustainable Development (the "EFSD") and the IDA IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window’s Blended Finance Facility (“IDA PSW-BFF”).
IFC’s program in Côte d’Ivoire is its largest portfolio in the WAEMU zone and one of its largest in Africa. As of January 2025, IFC’s total investment portfolio stood at $761 million. with a focus on affordable housing, agricultural value chains, infrastructure (including digital), capital market development, health, creative industries, and access to finance for SMEs.
About IFC
IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2024, IFC committed a record $56 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging private sector solutions and mobilizing private capital to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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About the European Fund for Sustainable Development
The EFSD is part of the EU's investment framework for external action. The EFSD offers financial guarantees that allow private investors to finance projects in more challenging markets, by assuming the risks of more unstable environments while avoiding market distortions. Because the EFSD covers a share of the risks, the EU's development finance partners such as IFC can match the EFSD guarantees with their own resources, which in turn will attract additional investors. EFSD is supporting the Program with a pooled first loss guarantee of EUR 58 million. The Program provides SMEs with access to financial services as well as risk-sharing support to encourage financial institutions in partner countries to expand their SME lending portfolio, with a particular focus on the harder-to-reach smaller SMEs.
About We-Fi
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is a collaborative partnership among the 14 governments that have made financial contributions, six multilateral development banks that serve as implementing partners, and other public and private stakeholders. We-Fi was formally established in October 2017 as a Financial Intermediary Fund hosted by the World Bank. We-Fi invests in programs and projects that help unlock billions of dollars in financing to address the full range of barriers facing women entrepreneurs—increasing access to finance, markets, technology, and mentoring, while strengthening policy, legal and regulatory frameworks. As one of the We-Fi Implementing Partners, IFC supports private sector clients with investment and advisory services to expand financial services and market access for women-owned/led firms, as well as increasing the capacity of women entrepreneurs to run high-growth businesses. For more information, visit www.we-fi.org.
This statement was corrected on 04/16/2025 to clarify the blended finance support provided to the three projects and add relevant information on the EFSD and We-Fi facilities.
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