Attijariwafa bank Signs Memorandum of Understanding with African Guarantee Fund in favor of Women Entrepreneur

Kigali, November 25, 2019 - On the sidelines of the Global Gender Summit,which takes place this year in Kigali from November 25 to 27, 2019, a memorandum of understanding between the Attijariwafa bank group and the African Guarantee Fund group has been signed. Guarantee Fund, a major fund in Africa, whose main objective is to encourage the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises. This agreement will enable the Attijariwafa bank group to support women entrepreneurs by benefiting from portfolio guarantees on the one hand, and to provide technical support, in partnership with the African Guarantee Fund, to SMEs in all the Group’s presence countries on the other. It was signed by Mr. Hicham Fadili, Director of Business Development at International Retail Banking and Mr. Jules Ngankam, Deputy General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of the African Guarantee Fund Group.

On this occasion, Mr. Mohamed El Kettani, CEO of Attijariwafa bank group said: « The signing of this memorandum is the embodiment of a strong partnership between two major Groups that are heavily involved in the development of Africa. Our Group has always supported entrepreneurs and in particular the woman entrepreneur who is strongly committed to our African societies.

As such, our bank signed, at the last International Africa Development Forum, with the African Development Bank and four African associations working for women entrepreneurs, an agreement to promote the SUFAWE (Stand Up for African Women Entrepreneurs) initiative.

The African Guarantee Fund, as a major player in supporting African SMEs, is the ideal partner to further develop our support for women’s entrepreneurship in Africa».

For his part, Mr. Félix Bikpo, Managing Director of the African Guarantee Fund group, said: «The signing of this MoU is an expression of the strong will of the African Guarantee Fund group to support African SMEs. Its financing is all the more important, knowing the role it plays in African economies. We are already working with the Attijariwafa bank group and are pleased to see the expansion of this partnership to other countries».

This Memorandum perfectly matches the spirit of Global Gender Summit. Indeed, Attijariwafa bank, as a responsible leader, has launched a significant number of initiatives in favor of entrepreneurship, including Dar Al Moukawil, an exclusive and innovative concept, dedicated to the support, training, consulting in favor of VSEs, clients and non clients, via physical centers and a digital platform www.daralmoukawil.com, particularly for the creation of enterprise, project development, market access, etc.

About Attijariwafa bank Group

Attijariwafa bank is the first group in the Maghreb and the UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) region and a key player in the CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa).

With more than 20,000 employees, the Attijariwafa bank Group is present in 25 countries outside Morocco, including 14 African countries, and has nearly 10 million clients.

Undisputed leader of the banking and financial sector in Morocco, Attijariwafa bank ranks first nationally in the collection of savings, in the financing of the economy, in electronic payments and as a digital bank. It is also the leading player in investment banking and market activities in Morocco.

The Group has the largest distribution network in Morocco and the densest in Africa with 5,024 agencies.

Attijariwafa bank was ranked by Jeune Afrique, the leading French-speaking bank and 6th largest African bank by total assets, with more than US $ 1 billion invested on the continent since 2010.

www.attijariwafabank.com

About the African Guarantee Fund

African Guarantee Fund is a pan-African non-bank financial institution whose objective is the promotion of economic development, the fight against unemployment and the reduction of poverty in Africa by the provision of guarantee and the reinforcement of capacities to financial institutions, with the aim of supporting small and medium sized enterprises in Africa.

AGF was established by the Danish Government through the Danish International Development Agency, the Spanish Government through the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development and the African Development Bank. The French Development Agency, the Nordic Development Fund, the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and the KfW Development Bank have also become shareholders of AGF.

AGF has been rated AA- by Fitch Ratings.

www.africanguaranteefund.com

Press Contact - Attijariwafa bank group

Ouafaa GHAOUAT

Press Relations Officier

Institutional communication

Phone: 00212 522 54 53 57

Mobile: 00212 647 47 32 90

Email: O.Ghaouat@attijariwafa.com

Press Contact - African Guarantee Fund

Ms. Diana Aluga

Media Relations Manager

Phone: +254 7 32 14 80 00

Mobile: +254 7 80 00 88 66

Email : diana.aluga@agf.africa