Développement international Desjardins (DiD), a Canadian nonprofit supporting the community finance sector in emerging economies, has officially opened the Centre financier financial aux entrepreneurs de Tunisie, which is known in English as the Entrepreneur Financial Center of Tunisia (EFC Tunisia).
DiD; AfricInvest, a Tunisia-based firm that invests growth capital in small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa; and the Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance (Desjardins Fund), an investment fund that supports microfinance organizations, are launching the EFC with financial support from the government of Canada’s Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD). This is the fifth EFC that DiD has opened and the fourth supported by AfricInvest.
EFC Tunisia will focus on providing loans to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in the greater Tunis area before expanding into other areas of Tunisia. EFC plans to hire and train 130 employees to distribute approximately 14,000 loans worth a total of TND 64.4 million (USD 33.3 million) and creating 76,000 jobs by 2019.
As with the EFCs in Panama, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, EFC Tunisia will offer a share acquisition program to clients and employees. The other four DiD EFCs claim aggregate assets of CAD 68 million (USD 54 million), a loan portfolio of CAD 53 million (USD 43 million), deposits of CAD 12 million (USD 9 million) and 32,000 clients. Both DiD and the Desjardins Fund are units of the Desjardins group, a Canadian Financial Cooperative with USD 188 billion in assets as of 2013.
By Jared Deveau, Research Associate
About Développement international Desjardins
Développement international Desjardins (DiD) is a Canadian nonprofit corporation that specializes in providing technical support and investment for the community finance sector in emerging economies. It assists organizations in approximately 30 nations in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America. DiD is a component of the Desjardins Group, a financial cooperative offering banking, insurance, securities and investment services, with approximately USD 188 billion in assets as of 2013. DiD has two funds that provide loans and investment capital to microfinance institutions and funds specializing in microfinance, the Partnership Fund and the Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance. In the past, DiD managed the now-closed Guarantee Fund, and it is currently winding down Fonds d’investissement pour le développement international (FONIDI). DiD also organizes the Proxfin network of 30 community finance institutions and operates a network of entrepreneur financial centers (EFCs) in Dar es Salam, Tanzania; Kampala, Uganda; Lusaka, Zambia; Panama City, Panama; Tunis, Tunisia, with three additional EFCs scheduled to open in Africa and Latin America as of 2015. The EFCs in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia accept deposits. The four EFCs other than the one in Tunisia claim aggregate assets of CAD 68 million (USD 54 million), a loan portfolio of CAD 53 million (USD 43 million), deposits of CAD 12 million (USD 9 million) and 32,000 clients. Financial data is not yet available on the Tunisian EFC as it opened during 2015.
About Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance
The Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance, an investment fund established in 2011 by the Canadian Cooperative Desjardins Group, is intended to assist in the development of microfinance institutions. The fund manages CAD 15 million (USD 13 million) in assets as of 2014.
About AfricInvest
Founded in 1994, AfricInvest (formerly known as Tuninvest) is a Tunisia-based private equity firm that invests growth capital in small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa. The group employs 50 people and operates offices in Algeria, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia. Since 2004, the company has executed approximately 112 investments in sectors including energy, hospitality, financial services and leisure products among others. As of December 2014, the group reported USD 1 billion of assets under management in 14 private equity funds.
About Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD)
The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) is a government entity that was established in 1993 to manage Canada’s international relations, consular services, international trade, international development and humanitarian assistance. As of 2014, DFATD has projects in 25 countries. As of 2012-2013, the development budget of DFATD was CAD 3.4 billion (USD 3.1 billion)
Sources and Additional Resources:
Développement international Desjardins (DID), The Tunisian entrepreneur financial centre set up by DID officially opens its doors
MicroCapital, February 2, 2015, Développement international Desjardins (DID) to Establish 4 More Entrepreneur Financial Centers in Tunisia, Elsewhere in Africa, Latin America
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Développement international Desjardins (DID)
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance
MicroCapital Universe Profile: AfricInvest
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD)
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