In 2023, Proparco committed nearly €2.7 billion in financing, 40% of which included climate co-benefits

Climate co-benefit financing accounted for more than 40% of Proparco's activity in 2023, representing an increase of almost 70% in volume terms compared with 2021 (i.e., from €0.67 billion to €1.13 billion). As part of its contribution to SDG 13 – “Taking urgent action to combat climate change” - Proparco signed a USD 200 million sustainability-linked loan with the pan-African banking group Ecobank involving two major climate commitments, namely reporting climate information and defining a climate strategy. This large-scale operation is the first impact loan for a bank in Africa and it was made possible by Proparco's ability to syndicate financing from other donors, in the service of the planet.

Proparco committed €675 million in 2023 to projects in support of SDG 5, "Gender Equality", across a wide range of sectors (agriculture, industry, energy and infrastructure). This represented a jump of 220% on 2022. Across all of Proparco's activities, 25% of projects qualify for the 2X Challenge initiative founded by the development finance institutions of G7 countries to boost the economic role of women in developing countries.
For example, in Senegal, financing the Dakar BRT – Sub-Saharan Africa’s first 100% electric bus network – will improve daily access to transport and safety for 125,000 women, while encouraging their employment in the transport sector.

Africa accounted for 52% of Proparco's activity in 2023 (€1.4 billion), a large part of which was invested in innovation and entrepreneurship. Rolling out the second part of the Choose Africa initiative has involved all of the Group's entities, and Proparco and its subsidiary Digital Africa are using all of their instruments to promote access to credit, strengthen the equity of start-ups and SMEs, and facilitate trade for these economic agents who play a key role in reducing poverty. The Choose Africa initiative will eventually benefit 40,000 businesses and hundreds of thousands of micro-entrepreneurs, financed thanks to loans and investments already granted.
Digital Africa, which has been a subsidiary of Proparco since 2022, finances and supports start-ups in Africa's digital ecosystem, especially via the Fuzé fund, which financed 13 new start-ups in 2023 for a total amount of €560,000.

As part of Choose Africa 2, Proparco has invested €14 million as lead investor in the Joliba Capital Fund 1, alongside the IFC (International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank) and the Dutch development bank, FMO. Joliba Capital, an African private equity firm, will target investment opportunities in French-speaking countries to help regional champions emerge across a wide range of sectors, including agri-business, manufacturing, education and healthcare. This project to support highly promising small and medium-sized businesses in West and Central Africa is one of this year’s 10 flagship projects.

To combat food insecurity on the continent, Proparco is putting up approximately €235 million in financing to support African agricultural value chains in line with the objectives of FARM, the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission, launched by France in 2022. In this way, Proparco is helping to develop agricultural value chains, supporting both smallholder farmers and agribusinesses.

As a development finance institution, and in the interests of accountability, Proparco assesses and reports on the impact of its actions by measuring the results and impacts of its financing. Searching for and maximising impact therefore lie at the heart of the Proparco project life cycle.

Proparco has measured its contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on an ex-ante analysis (during the project vetting phase) of the impacts of 94 projects authorised in 2023 for a cumulative amount of €2.3 billion (out of a total authorised amount of €2.68 billion).^[1]

In particular, our funding has contributed to SDG 8, "Decent work and economic growth", by supporting over 1.5 million jobs. Female access to employment is also at the heart of what we are trying to do and 44% of the direct jobs supported by our clients are occupied by women.

As Françoise Lombard, Chief Executive Officer of Proparco explains, "2023 is the first year of deployment of Proparco's new strategy, which is firmly focused on the systematic quest for impact. Alongside our partners and thanks to the support of our shareholders and the strong commitment of our teams, this year we achieved a historic level of activity, especially in initiatives in support of the climate, gender equality and the continent of Africa. By supporting a wide range of private sector players - start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, financial institutions and infrastructure projects - in a variety of sectors and geographies, Proparco is continuing its efforts to build resilient economies, protect the planet and reduce inequalities for a fairer and more sustainable world.”

^[1]  For each SDG ticked by a project (a project may comply with several SDGs), the total authorised amount is recorded. The sum of the amounts allocated to each SDG is therefore greater than the total amount authorised for the 94 projects.