MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Lends $7m to Attijari Leasing for MSMEs in Tunisia

The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in renewable energy and energy efficiency, recently loaned EUR 6 million (USD 6.9 million) to Attijari Leasing, a Tunisia-based firm, to fund energy-efficiency improvements for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in Tunisia. Attijari Leasing, which is controlled by Morocco-based Attijariwafa Bank (AWB), offers leasing for “real estate and movable property for professional, industrial, commercial, agricultural, fishing or service purposes, as well as [f]actoring.”

As of 2017, AWB had 20,000 employees working at 4,300 branches in 26 countries producing gross operating income of MAD 11.7 billion (USD 1.2 billion) on total assets of MAD 319 billion (USD 33.5 billion). Its Tunisian subsidiary, Attijari Bank Tunisia, operates 207 branches and is the parent organization of Attijari Leasing. As of December 2017, Attijari Leasing reported total assets of TND 557.5 million (USD 188.7 million).

Created in 2009 by the EU’s European Investment Bank and Germany’s KfW Development Bank, GGF focuses on extending the use of renewable energy sources and enhancing energy efficiency in 19 countries in southeastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. GGF’s investors include the Church of Sweden, the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, the Netherlands Development Finance Company (which is also known by its Dutch acronym FMO) and Germany’s Gemeinschaftsbank fur Leihen und Schenken (GLS) Bank. As of January 2019, GFF reports an investment portfolio of EUR 429 million (USD 491 million) outstanding to 52 enterprises in 19 countries. From its inception through September 2018, 32 percent of its loan funds were on-lent to households, 31 percent to service-based businesses and 22 percent to manufacturers.

Tiannah Steele, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

GGF press release
https://www.ggf.lu/pressnews/detail/ggf-partners-with-attijari-leasing-to-promote-energy-efficiency-in-tunisian-msme-sector-invests-eur/

Attijari Leasing homepage
http://www.attijarileasing.com.tn/

AWB 2017 annual report
http://www.attijariwafabank.com/ESPACEFINANCIER/Documents/Rapport%20annuel%20AWB%20-%20VAngl.pdf

GGF fact sheet
https://www.ggf.lu/fileadmin/user_upload/05_downloads/fact_sheets/English/GGF_-_At_a_Glance_Q3_2018_English.pdf

GGF quarterly update
https://www.ggf.lu/fileadmin/user_upload/05_downloads/fact_sheets/English/GGF_Quarterly_Fact_Sheet_-_Q3_2018_English.pdf

GGF homepage
https://www.ggf.lu/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Loans $1.5m to Microfinance Organization Crystal of Georgia
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-green-for-growth-fund-ggf-loans-1-5m-to-microfinance-organization-crystal-of-georgia/

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