ADB Grant To The Private Enterprise Partnership ‎For Africa

Tunis, March 16, 2006 – The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) on Wednesday approved a grant of 5 million Units of Account (US$ 7 million) to the Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa (PEP Africa).

PEP Africa is a new initiative led by International Finance Corporation (IFC) with the support of the Bank Group as a regional sponsor and the involvement of many other donors aiming at supporting private sector and SMEs development in sub-Saharan Africa, in an integrated manner. Its overarching objective is to contribute to poverty reduction in a sustained way, by empowering business men and women in the region, building on the achievements of the African Project Development Facility (APDF). APDF came to its end in 2005.

The three main objectives of PEP Africa are: enhancing the enabling business environment, strengthening the growth and competitiveness of SMEs, and stimulating private sector investments. It will assist in particular countries to improve their business environment while supporting enterprise development by building capacity of Business Development Service Providers and Financial Institutions.

PEP Africa will constitute one of the Bank’s implementation arms of direct assistance to SMEs to better respond to the needs of the private sector in Africa and in a more cost-effective way.

In line with its Private Sector Development Strategy, the Bank Group will play a more proactive role in this facility; and build strong collaboration networks with other partners in sectors such as infrastructure and ICT; agro-business, extractive industries, African Women Entrepreneurship development and financial markets.

In all these areas PEP Africa offers an appropriate implementation instrument on the ground to ensure that the Bank Group is partnering in responsive activities.

Source: ADB (African Development Band), Mar 16, 2006

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