On Monday 11 November, the European Commission signed guarantee agreements with the Dutch Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V (FMO) and the Italian Cassa Depositi e Prestiti' (CDP), alongside the 2019 Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg, in order to stimulate investment and access to finance for small businesses in Africa, thanks to the EU External Investment Plan.
FMO Ventures Programme. This €40 million agreement will guarantee venture capital provided by the FMO to start-up companies, in particular those managed by young entrepreneurs. It will target companies offering digital solutions (agriculture, access to energy, financial services, healthcare, education, transport and logistics) and it will support up to 125,000 new jobs, directly or indirectly.
Archipelagos One4A. The €30 million guarantee agreement with Archipelagosis a partnership with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the Italian Development Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Through innovative capital markets solutions, it will provide access to finance for small businesses and enable financing partners to share the risk of investing. It will generate up to 50,000 jobs.
By investing €4.5 billion, the EU's External Investment Plan is expected to raise €44 billion in public and private investment by 2020 in Africa and in the vicinity of the EU. They have already raised €4.2 billion. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)