The European Union (EU) and Investors and Partners (I&P) on Friday launched the "I&P Acceleration in the Sahel" program, financed with 10 billion 75 million CFA francs to support the development of 300 start-ups and small medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ) in a dozen countries in the Sahel, including Senegal. According to the president of I&P, Jean-Michel Severino, this "ambitious program" will be implemented for four years, for the benefit of 300 SMEs and start-ups operating in 13 Sahelian countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, Togo and Senegal. He gave this clarification during a virtual press conference given jointly with the head of the West Africa department at the European Commission, Didier Verse. The EU is helping to finance this initiative, through its Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, Mr.

Severino during the virtual meeting with journalists, which marked the launch of "I&P Acceleration in the Sahel".

"It will be implemented by Investisseurs & Partenaires, a group specializing in the financing and support of SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa", he added. The support project for start-ups and SMEs selected in Sahelian countries comprises three components: seed funding to meet the financing needs of businesses during their incubation or acceleration phase, technical assistance to strengthen the capacities of African companies and investment teams, and support for the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the chosen countries.

Creation of some 5,000 jobs

“This special program is reserved for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, real pillars of job creation and essential cogs in the economic and social development of the Sahelian region,” said Jean-Michel Severino. The aim of the initiative is, according to him, to "strengthen and generate a dynamic entrepreneurial fabric and a network of professionals ready to support their growth". To achieve this, "the program will respond to the challenges of financing, modernization, competitiveness and professional training of these companies", he assured, adding that "I&P Acceleration in the Sahel" will "promote the creation of jobs" in the countries of intervention. It will be created, thanks to this initiative, an "ecosystem that will strengthen the socio-economic stability of fragile countries, targets of the intervention", according to Mr. Severino. According to him, some 5,000 jobs will be created thanks to "I&P Acceleration in the Sahel". Covid-19 was taken into account and integrated into the programme, which was designed long before" the coronavirus pandemic, he underlined, adding that the private sector, especially SMEs, must be supported. An important part of the planned budget for the initiative will be devoted to l support for the companies most affected by the Covid-19 crisis, to enable "about fifteen companies" to benefit, in the "short term", from financial and technical support. This is to help the approximately 15 beneficiary companies to "overcome this crisis" of coronavirus, said Mr. Severino. "It is absolutely necessary to increase private investment in Africa to have this snowball effect on the economy, because it is not development aid that will help these countries, already affected by high insecurity, to development," said Didier Verse. “What is important, he underlined, is to respect the rules of the market by helping formalized companies, which have profitable activities, pay taxes to the State and pay a decent salary to their employees. "