The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA, the Swiss subsidiary of France-based financial services provider BNP Paribas recently teamed up to launch a USD 100 million, three-year risk-sharing facility to support the financing needs of agriculture firms in Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe.
The facility will operate through the IFC’s Global Warehouse Finance Program, which was opened in 2010 to increase the availability of working capital financing to farmers, traders and exporters in emerging markets by using their own agricultural production as leverage. The program is expected to reach approximately 200,000 farmers across all regions and contribute to food availability for 7.5 million people by 2014 [1]. The total amount of the IFC’s Global Warehouse Finance Program has not been disclosed.
Cinzia Maurer-Tatti, global head of the Transaction Bank Group at BNP Paribas, commented on the new risk-sharing facility as follows: “With IFC’s partnership, we will be able to expand lending to our clients in the agricultural sector in Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe, providing them with much-needed liquidity [1].”
By Amira Berrada, Research Associate
About International Finance Corporation (IFC): A member of the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) offers loans, equity investments, advisory services and technical assistance to private companies with the intent of alleviating poverty and promoting open and competitive markets in developing countries. As of 2011, IFC has 182 member countries, total assets of USD 68.5 billion and total investment mobilization of USD 12.2 billion to 518 projects.
About BNP Paribas: Resulting from the 2000 merger between two French banks, Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas, BNP Paribas is a financial services provider headquartered in Paris. The bank has operations in 84 countries and focuses on retail banking, investment banking and wealth management. As of June 2011, it reported total assets of USD 2.7 trillion.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1]http://www.ifc.org/IFCExt/pressroom/IFCPressRoom.nsf/0/6F6EC7F5D83DE13C852579D400531CE3
MicroCapital.org story, March 5, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Union Funds International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Support Microfinance Institution Arvand’s Agricultural Loans in Tajikistan” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-european-union-funds-inte…
MicroCapital.org story, March 1, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $32m to Garanti Bank Romania for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-international-finance-cor…
MicroCapital.org story, September 20, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BNP Paribas Loans $1.9m to Microfinance Institutions Fundacion Espoir of Ecuador, Amret of Cambodia” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-bnp-paribas-loans-1-9m-to…
MicroCapital Universe Profile for International Finance Corporation (IFC): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Int…
MicroCapital Universe Profile for BNP Paribas: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=BNP…
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