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Proparco review 2025: Staying the course in a changing world
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Proparco, France’s development finance institution dedicated to the private sector, confirmed the strength of its business operations in 2025 with €2.5 billion invested in nearly 200 projects, including €1.3 billion mobilized for climate action – a record for the institution. This sustained level of activity, amidst geopolitical and financial uncertainty, reaffirms our commitment to tackling major global challenges: climate change, building economic resilience in fragile countries, ensuring food security, and promoting gender equality. Behind these investment figures lies a single objective: supporting businesses, projects, and solutions that strengthen local economies, protect the planet and reduce inequalities.
With nearly 200 projects signed in 2025, Proparco’s activities focused on six strategic priorities:
- Solidarity investments in Africa: €924 million
- Gender equality, which accounts for 25% of our activity, remains a key focus: €642 million, aligned with the 2X Challenge initiative
- Protecting the planet: one-third of our activity, or €912 million worth of financing dedicated to positive climate impacts – including €50 million for climate change adaptation
- Agricultural value chains, particularly through the FARM program: €148 million
- The most vulnerable populations in the geographies where we do business: €270.5 million
- Fragile countries: €300 million
“Proparco’s continued high level of performance in 2025 primarily reflects the dynamism of the private sector in the geographies in which we operate and the relevance of our positioning strategy. Working alongside French and European companies, Proparco has demonstrated its ability to promote French expertise in sustainable development, whilst continuing to deploy a rigorous and profitable business model. 2025 was also a key milestone in our strategy to mobilise private capital. For the first time, Proparco exceeded its “one-for-one” target, with €1 of private investor funding mobilised for every €1 of Proparco funding. In 2026, the year of the French G7 presidency, Proparco intends to take this momentum to a new level. The Africa Forward summit co-organised by Proparco in Nairobi in May 2026 has already provided an opportunity to reaffirm the key role of the private sector in renewing the Franco-African partnership.”
- CEO of Proparco
Africa – the heart of Proparco’s investment strategy
In 2025, Africa remained at the heart of Proparco’s investment strategy, with projects deployed across all key sectors of economic development. This commitment was particularly apparent in the Choose Africa initiative, designed to support African start-ups and MSMEs through tailored financing solutions and targeted technical assistance. In total, €934 million were mobilized throughout the continent in support of 200,000 MSMEs, and in order to safeguard or create 1.5 million jobs.
This momentum also benefited French SMEs operating in Africa, as highlighted by Proparco’s €15 million investment in the Franco-African Fund (FFA) III, launched by the European subsidiary of AfricInvest, a leader in African private equity. This fund has supported the development of French companies such as Ragni, a specialist in public lighting design, Piex, which specialises in healthcare services, and Le Wagon, which provides training in new technologies.
The Africa Forward summit, organised in Nairobi, Kenya, on 11 and 12 May 2026, showcased the strength of the economic partnership between France and African countries, as well as the effectiveness of the investment strategy deployed by Proparco on the continent in 2025. During the Business Forum held on May 11 – co-organized with Bpifrance and Business France – Proparco brought together more than 250 clients and partners, culminating in over €500 million worth of commitments in just a single day.
Reducing inequalities by boosting female economic empowerment
In 2025, Proparco ramped up its strategy to reduce inequalities, with a particular focus on gender equality to promote female access to employment, financing, and entrepreneurship. Alongside 2X Challenge certification, Proparco now offers an intermediate pathway, Gender Boost, designed to help its clients progress toward gender equality. This objective resulted in €895 million worth of approvals targeting a reduction in inequalities, including €42 million in authorisations aligned with 2X Challenge gender equality criteria. In total, 33 projects were certified under the 2X Challenge during 2025.
VPBank is a particularly noteworthy example. It is a major player in the Vietnamese banking sector and has been a Proparco partner for over five years. The institution issued Vietnam’s first green, social, and sustainable bond in September 2025. Thanks to US$100 million in support from Proparco, this transaction helped safeguard nearly 16,000 female jobs in Vietnamese SMEs.
A historic level of mobilisation in favour of climate action
In 2025, Proparco recorded a historic level of commitment to climate co-benefits, underpinned by financing that is fully compatible with the Paris Agreement, in line with AFD Group’s commitments. This momentum has generated dedicated financing of €1.3 billion as well as the deployment of new strategies, particularly in the area of natural capital conservation.
The Kipeto wind farm, located 70 km from Nairobi, exemplifies this goal. Thanks to a US$15 million equity investment by Proparco alongside Méridiam, a French fund manager specializing in the development and financing of sustainable infrastructure, this project will help provide reliable, renewable, and affordable energy to nearly 500,000 people, while simultaneously preventing the emission of approximately 200,000 tonnes of CO² equivalent.
A Commitment to impact at the very heart of what we do
The expected and actual impacts generated by our investments remain at the heart of our action, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2025, Proparco’s activities generated significant positive impacts in the following areas:
- employment, through the direct and indirect creation and preservation of 1.5 million jobs
- climate: 2.85 tonnes of CO² avoided
- enhanced access to essential goods and services:
- access to microcredit: 500,000 beneficiaries
- access to healthcare services: 2 million beneficiaries
- access to electricity: 4 million beneficiaries
Our results in key figures
