Description

Between October 2008 and January 2009, Belgian Bankers Academy developed an integrated mechanism for the Government of the Republic of the Congo to support the creation and development of SMEs, based on three complementary funds:

1. Business Support Fund

   • Designing a service to prepare business plans and bankable financial plans

   • Defining eligibility criteria and assessment procedures

2. Business Development Fund

   • Establishing a co-financing mechanism with commercial banks and microfinance institutions

   • Calculating complementary funding amounts and risk-sharing arrangements

3. Guarantee Fund

• Designing a partial guarantee framework to secure loans
• Aligning coverage conditions with international good practices

The integrated approach aimed to address three challenges simultaneously:

• limited technical capacity, including business planning and financial structuring

• insufficient equity

• inadequate guarantees

The study confirmed that the model could be replicated in other sectors, including agriculture, trade and services, and for specific target groups such as women, young people and the diaspora.

BBA’s Role

• Data collection and assessment: conducting field consultations with political, academic and financial stakeholders to map SME needs

• FIGA model design: defining the three funds, business support, development and guarantee, and their operating arrangements

• Process design: drafting procedure manuals, eligibility criteria and user guidelines

• Financial modelling: simulating co-financing flows and guarantee amounts

• Validation and Presentation : Conducting validation workshops with the Government and submitting the final reports.