Just three months after signing a financing arrangement with the EIB, the BCI has already granted MRU 280 million (€6.5 million) in loans to five SMEs to support employment, entrepreneurship and access to finance for Mauritania’s women and youth.
The loans were made in areas like health, clean energy and sustainable food systems. They are a tangible contribution to the Team Europe
Initiatives of green transition and stronger human development in Mauritania, set by the European Commission for 2021-2027.
The BCI will grant MRU 1 billion (€25 million) in loans to SMEs and mid-caps under the arrangement with the EIB, supporting around 3 000 jobs, especially for youth and women.
A fine example of financial partnership in the strategic cooperation between Mauritania and the European Union
On 8 February 2024, following the visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Mauritania and in the wake of new commitments to strengthen the EU-Mauritania partnership, Isselmou Ould Tajidine, CEO of the Banque pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (BCI) and Markus Berndt, Deputy Managing Director of EIB Global, the EIB’s development branch, announced a financing arrangement for €25 million.
Three months later, on 23 May 2024, Tajidine signed the first five loans under the arrangement with Mauritanian entrepreneurs, in a ceremony attended by Rita Laranjinha, Managing Director for Africa with the European External Action Service, and Gwilym Jones, EU Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
The five loans total MRU 280 million (or €6.5 million), almost 90% of which furthers the objective of women's economic participation as entrepreneurs, managers, employees and consumers of products and services in line with the 2X Challenge initiative; and 100% of which furthers the objective of supporting youth employment and entrepreneurship.
The loans were granted to priority sectors for the EU in Mauritania, such as health, agricultural value chains and solar energy.
Clinique Chiva: Directed by Mint Ismail, this is one of the first private medical clinics in Mauritania. In recent years, it has been renovated, extended and given new equipment to meet the growing needs of a sector marked by a shortage of health services. By renovating its imaging machines (for MRIs, CT scans, X-rays, etc.) and laboratory equipment; purchasing new dental, cardiology and ophthalmology equipment; and extending the building to accommodate a full dialysis unit (intake, treatment and hospitalisation), the clinic will be able to expand the scope of its activity and create new jobs, all while reducing the need to discharge patients and transfer them to other countries.
ETS Auto-DIAG: Founded in 2002, this company specialises in installing hybrid photovoltaic systems and primarily hires young people. It deploys off-grid and on-grid photovoltaic systems, using lithium batteries to store the energy produced. An important player in the sector in Mauritania, it offers solutions for industrial, small and medium-sized installations, as well as for mobile systems.
Mauritanienne des Produits Alimentaires (MPA SA): This leading Mauritanian producer of pasta employing 215 people, including 135 women, has a production capacity of 140 tonnes a day. The loan from the BCI will finance the purchase of a new pasta production line to replace old machinery from 2002, with higher capacity to meet growing market demand.
RIM FOAM-SARL: This company is a leading manufacturer in Mauritania of wadding mattresses and padding, with more than 25 years of experience producing high quality polyurethane foam. It employs 58 people, mainly youth, including 23 women.
NEJAH 2: Among the leading businesses in Rosso for the packaging and sale of rice, this company employs 28 people, 75% of whom are women. The BCI loan will finance its operations as well as its growth, with the construction of warehouses and the acquisition of production equipment for automated rice processing and packaging (cleaning, milling, hulling, sorting, polishing, bagging, etc.).