Description
Background and objectives
Supported by a donation from the Technical Assistance Fund for Middle-Income Countries (TAF-PRI), the Gabonese Republic has asked the Belgian Bankers Academy (BBA) to design and manage a pilot incubator for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The objective: to significantly improve the viability and sustainability of local project leaders, while facilitating their access to financing and public and private markets.
Component 1 – Support for entrepreneurs
Feasibility studies
Technical, economic and legal analysis of business plans.
Skills development
Training in accounting, financial and administrative management
Practical workshops on organizational structuring and governance
Business plan modeling
Development of models adaptable to the sector specificities of the carriers
Multi-year financial projection to convince lessors and banks
Component 2 – Facilitating access to finance and markets
Preparation of tender documents
Creation of standardized templates to respond to calls for public and private orders.
Guarantee and security devices
Design of a guarantee fund backed by the incubator, reducing the risk perceived by lenders.
Groups and partnerships
Support for the creation of consortia to strengthen collective response capacity.
Investor Forums
Organization of targeted meetings between national and international entrepreneurs and financiers.
Bank negotiations
Individual assistance to holders to present their file to financial institutions.
Methodology and deliverables
Participatory approach: framing meetings, field interviews and co-construction workshops
Operational toolkit: practical guides, document templates and quality checklists
Final report: summary of diagnoses, strategic recommendations and detailed roadmap
Monitoring platform: KPI dashboard to measure post-incubation impact (survival rate, revenue growth, obtaining financing)
Key results
More than 20 MSMEs submitted bankable applications in less than 3 months
8 projects selected by commercial banks, generating a leverage effect of 1:3 in financing
+ 25% satisfaction rate of beneficiaries on the relevance of the tools provided
This mission helped lay the foundations for a sustainable incubation ecosystem in Gabon, by strengthening the capacity of project leaders to structure their economic model and secure the financing essential for their development.
Role of BBA
Definition, conceptualization and documentation of support services
Preparation of standard tender documents for MSME access to public procurement
Development of a “bankable” financing application file template
Implementation of a project guarantee and security system
Development and monitoring of the MSME monitoring plan
Organization of investor and entrepreneur forums