Investments in SMEs and FIs Funding Programme (Burkina Faso)

It will also de-risk financial intermediaries, enabling them to facilitate access to finance for women-owned and led SMEs focused on climate-smart agriculture to benefit low-income households.

Investment in SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and FIs (Financial Intermediaries) is part of the Investing in Women in Burkina Faso programme, a C$16 million programme funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

Aims

• The programme aims to:
  • Strengthen the private sector’s commitment to women as economic actors.
  • Increase private and public sector investment in local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owned and managed by women and other types of local enterprises that create economic opportunities for women.
  • Reduce systemic gender inequalities that hinder women’s effective economic participation in high environmental impact markets and the private sector more generally.

Objectives

• Improve access to finance for Small and Medium Enterprises and local Financial Institutions or Financial Intermediaries that create economic opportunities and facilitate access to finance for women, for example, by promoting job creation, strengthening economic fabrics, supporting input/product/service providers along value chains where women are involved, or providing loans and capacity building to women.
• Provide targeted technical assistance for the business development of local women-owned enterprises and build their capacity for gender mainstreaming.
• Promote and raise awareness of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of investing in women in Burkina Faso.
• Provide incentives to encourage the sustainable and widespread adoption of climate-smart practices.

Funding Information

• The funding, which is provided in the form of soft loans and grants, must be used for a specific project, such as the particular project, such as the introduction of new services or products, the expansion of an existing business, or the expansion/replication of a new market.
• Investing companies can apply for a range of funding depending on their stage of development:
  • For SME soft loans
    • A minimum allocation of CAD 50,000
    • and up to CAD 750,000
  • For non-repayable grants to eligible SMEs
    • Allocation of a minimum of CAD 50,000
    • and a maximum of CAD 750,000
• Financial Institutions (FIs) and Financial Services Intermediaries (FSIs) may apply for a range of funding depending on their level of development:
  • For concessionary FI loans
    • Allocation of a minimum of CAD 150,000
    • and a maximum of CAD 750,000
  • For non-repayable grants to these FIs
    • Allocation of a minimum of CAD 100,000
    • and a maximum of CAD 500,000

Areas of Intervention

• Funding is available to:
  • SMEs, local private companies owned and managed by women and operating commercially in Burkina Faso, with proven business links to women entrepreneurs and/or women-owned businesses.
  • Financial Institutions and Financial Service Intermediaries (FIs) that work with women or intend to work with women by designing financial products that specifically address the challenges women face in accessing finance.
• Although funding is not limited to specific value chains, the priority ones are shea, rice, groundnuts, soya, and poultry.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:
  • Be a local private sector company OR be a financial institution or financial intermediary (microfinance institution, village savings and credit association, etc.) operating or intending to operate in Burkina Faso.
  • Only local private sector companies that can demonstrate that they are at least 51% owned by women OR that they have a majority female management and a majority female representation among employees, suppliers of raw materials, or distributors of products and/or services are eligible.
  • Demonstrate a commitment to match the AECF contribution based on the ratios indicated for each contribution
• Request funding in the form of a grant and/or a repayable grant, or a combination of both, within the specified range.
  • Comply with the basic laws and regulations of the country, including tax and social compliance laws.
  • Comply with international laws on human rights, labor standards, and environmental management.
  • Demonstrate a commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment in business conduct.
  • Demonstrate clear integration of climate change mitigation or adaptation into their product or service offering or the intention to do so with the funding requested.
  • Be legally registered and physically located in Burkina Faso at the time of contract signature.
  • Have been in business for at least two (2) full financial years at the time of application.
  • Must Not be involved in any act of corruption. The AECF requires that the applicant (including its employees, subcontractors, and suppliers) is not engaged in offering to a third party or seeking, accepting, or promising from a third party, for itself or any other party, any gift, remuneration, compensation or advantage of any kind whatsoever which could be construed as an illegal or corrupt practice.
  • Must Not be associated with activities prohibited by the governments of Burkina Faso, such as terrorism, money laundering, or a list prohibiting trade with certain entities (IFC (International Finance Corporation), USAID, UN, EU (European Union), and any other network), in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

For more information, visit AECF.