A €15 million loan was signed between Proparco (a subsidiary of French Development Agency) and the Arab Tunisian Lease (ATL), with the aim of supporting Tunisian TPMEs.
Tunisia has more than 80,000 SMEs, accounting for more than half of the jobs and 40% of the GNP. They are a real lever of the Tunisian economy for growth, export, investment, employment and innovation.
However, they face constraints in financing their activity, particularly in the current context aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis.
Leasing”, also known as financial leasing, has developed significantly in Tunisia since the 2000s. It offers a financing solution favored by companies, especially SMEs, for their investments in equipment.
PROPARCO supports this activity by lending directly to leasing companies in order to increase and diversify their capacity to finance private investment.
With this loan, Proparco is starting a partnership with ATL Leasing, a historic player in the leasing sector, present throughout Tunisia via its network of 11 agencies.
“We are pleased to support a recognized player in the sector in assisting Tunisian SMEs, particularly in a difficult context aggravated by the health crisis,” said Amina Ben Abdelkarim, officer in charge of Proparco’s development in Tunisia”.
Leasing is an essential tool for financing VSEs and SMEs in Tunisia. The latter accounts for 85% of ATL’s clients.
This project is fully in line with Proparco’s priorities and within the framework of the French Choose Africa initiative” she added.
Launched in Ouagadougou by the French President, the Choose Africa supports entrepreneurs on the continent: AFD Group provides start-ups, VSEs and SMEs with all its tools to finance and support them at different stages of their development, particularly through local partners supported by the Group.
For his part, Zouhaier Tamboura, General Manager of ATL, said he was delighted with the signing of this loan agreement, which will help to remedy the lack of refinancing resources affecting the Tunisian leasing sector and will enable ATL Leasing to achieve growth in its efforts to finance SMEs in Tunisia.
