Loan to Oragroup to develop financial services in West and Central Africa

Orabank was set up in 1985 under the name Financial Bank and is a private banking group operating in 12 West and Central African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The group is managed by a holding company based in Lomé, Oragroup SA. Since the group was taken over by ECP, there has been a significant change in Oragroup’s shareholding structure, with Proparco, BIO, DEG, BOAD, and the Gabonese Strategic Investment Fund becoming leading shareholders.

Proparco’s credit line will allow Oragroup to access long-term financial resources. It will allow the bank to strengthen its capacity for operations and its role in developing the local economic base, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. This financing will strengthen Proparco’s partnership with Oragroup, of which it is a shareholder.

This project will contribute to the development of financial services in countries where the rate of use of the banking system remains low. This operation will promote economic growth in French-speaking Africa and will act as a catalyst by attracting other foreign investors.