Following today's visit to Mauritania by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during which she welcomed a strengthening of the EU-Mauritania partnership, Mr. Isselmou Ould Tajidine, President of the Banque pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (BCI) and Mr. Markus Berndt, Executive Director of EIB Monde, the EIB's new development arm, signed a finance contract for 20 million euros in the presence of the European Commission, with the possibility of an additional tranche of 5 million euros. The aim of this new financing is to step up support for Mauritania's Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Intermediate-Sized Enterprises (ISEs) with the help of the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+). Particular attention will be paid to young people and women in terms of entrepreneurship and access to financing, training and employment.
This is the second cooperation between the EIB and the BCI in support of Mauritanian businesses, following an initial partnership in 2001. More broadly, this is the EIB's first operation under the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and the members of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, on the other, which came into force in Mauritania on February 1, 2024, to strengthen cooperation in key areas such as inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development.
This new funding makes a very concrete contribution to achieving the European and priority objective of strengthening Mauritania's human and economic development as set out by the European Commission for the period 2021-2027.
At least 50% of EIB funds will be mobilized by the BCI to support youth employment and training, as well as youth-led businesses. Similarly, at least 40% of the EIB loan will be allocated to companies empowering women as entrepreneurs, managers, employees and consumers of products and services, thereby strengthening their participation in the economy in line with the "2X Challenge" initiative. Promoting the role of women has long been a priority for the BCI Group, 47% of whose employees and 30% of its executives are women.
In addition, thanks to the EIB's resources and the support of the European Commission, the BCI will be able to step up its efforts to finance green investments, in line with the EU's priorities in terms of mitigation and resilience to the effects of climate change, as set out in the Global Gateway strategy. For example, renewable energies, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, waste collection, treatment and transport, water supply and pollution prevention are all sectors that will benefit from investment under this agreement. In addition, the EIB will provide the CIB with technical assistance to support its commitment to climate change.
"This new chapter in the cooperation between the EIB and the BCI renews a 20-year partnership in favor of Mauritanian SMEs, and confirms the mutual trust between our institutions as well as the fruitful cooperation between the European Union and Mauritania. At the BCI, we are committed to supporting young people and women entrepreneurs in Mauritania, and through this partnership we hope to work even harder to promote sustainable development", declared Mr Isselmou Ould Tajidine, President of the BCI.
"This new partnership with the EIB, established with the support of the European Union, will strengthen the development of Mauritanian businesses, particularly SMEs, by giving young people and women access to financing," said Markus Berndt, Executive Director of EIB Monde. He added: "This is the European Investment Bank's first operation in West and Central Africa under the new Samoa Agreement between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. We are honored to renew the partnership we began with the BCI over twenty years ago, and look forward to strengthening our support for the development of the Mauritanian private sector, while helping to create opportunities for the youth and women of Mauritania".
