More than thirty years ago, Guy Anani was selling dry goods from a street corner on the outskirts of Lomé, Togo. Today, he runs his own factory employing 60 people to produce bars of soap branded in his name.
“I have devoted a long time to building this company. From retail, to importer and now industrialist,” says Anani, proudly surveying his factory floor.
That growth required a lot of support. Because of short-term loans from IFC client Banque Atlantique, Anani can import materials to produce soap and grow his production. His soap brand, Anamousse, is now sold in all major grocery stores across Togo. But he’s not done growing yet. His ambition is to become the biggest soap maker in Togo.
For small businesses like Anani’s, having a strong banking partner is vital to accessing the credit needed to run a successful business. In Togo, and across sub-Saharan Africa, small businesses account for more than half of formal jobs and contribute up to 60 percent of GDP. But despite their role in the economy, many banks still perceive small businesses as high-risk customers, making successes like Anani’s all too rare.
IFC estimates that 40 percent of micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in emerging markets around the world need approximately $5.2 trillion in additional financing to develop and support their businesses. The informal sector remains largely underserved, with a roughly $2.9 trillion demand for finance. In Togo alone, the small business finance gap is $390 million, representing 63 percent of the sector’s need.
That’s where IFC’s Small Loan Guarantee Program comes in.
Regular loans help Miriam Kalepe purchase fabrics and continue to expand her shop in Togo.
Partners for growth
The Small Loan Guarantee Program facilitates local-currency lending to small businesses in markets where lending is constrained by informality, high collateral requirements, and risk aversion. It does this by providing risk mitigation across a portfolio of risk-sharing facilities. IFC shares the credit risk with partner financial institutions to encourage them to expand their risk appetite and meet the financial needs of small businesses.
IFC’s Small Loan Guarantee Program is supported by the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window, which is providing a first-loss guarantee, allowing IFC to extend its reach into the most challenging markets—including countries affected by conflict.
Banque Atlantique, a subsidiary of Morocco's major lender BCP Group, saw an opportunity to support more small businesses in West Africa. IFC is helping the bank to do that using the Small Loan Guarantee Program. In addition to Togo, IFC’s investment in Banque Atlantique is supporting seven of the bank’s subsidiaries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Senegal.
Guy Anani’s soap factory employs 60 people. His ambition is to become Togo’s biggest soap maker.
“What matters most to Banque Atlantique is to make sure that the products we offer to small and medium enterprises are tailored to their needs, and that this enables them to grow their business effectively,” says Mohamed Simpore, the Director General of Banque Atlantique’s Togo subsidiary.
Simpore says the operation in Togo has been able to almost double its lending volumes in the past year.
“The partnership that we have with the IFC has allowed us to achieve this level of performance,” he says.
IFC’s investment in Banque Atlantique is also supported by the Global SME Finance Facility, an IFC-managed program that blends commercial financing from IFC and the European Investment Bank with donor funding from the UK's Department for International Development and the Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility, a partnership between Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women and IFC.
The Fabric of Small Business
Like Anani, the soap-maker, Togolese fabric seller Miriam Kalepe dreamed of growing her store from a closet-sized fabric shop to a spacious boutique.
Kalepe learned the art of buying and selling fabric from her aunt while she was a student. She’s now passing the tradition down to her daughter, who she hopes will join her in the business when she graduates from school. Kalepe also employs three people to help her sell the brightly colored wax prints popular with her consumers.
To keep her fabric trading business running, Kalepe first borrowed money from her brother, then built up enough capital to work with a bank. She now gets regular loans from Banque Atlantique to purchase her fabrics.
“I have had a life-long relationship with fabrics,” Kalepe says, wedged amid the brightly colored prints with names like “my rival’s eye” and “you go out, I go out,” featuring birds fleeing a cage on a pink background.
“My greatest joy comes from suggesting a fabric to a client, then receiving a picture of her happily wearing a dress made from the fabric. I feel empowered and happy.”
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Published in December 2019