randall, Author at EMGN

EMGN launches its Working Group on Counter Guarantees in the Mediterranean – First EMGN Counter Guarantee Working Group Meeting

randall — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 15:37:49 +0000

The objective of the working group is to assess the feasibility, the current practices and to develop the framework for setting-up national and regional counter guarantee schemes in the Mediterranean. Counter guarantees as a risk sharing mechanism can enhance MSMEs access to finance and job creation in the Southern Mediterranean region.

The first meeting, which took place on 26 August 2020, focused on providing an overview of the state of Credit Guarantee Schemes (CGSs) in the region, discussing different risk sharing mechanisms experienced by members, sharing views on the characteristics of the national and regional counter guarantee schemes and obstacles that may face their creation.

The working group members expressed their interest and need for such mechanism at the national and regional levels to enhance their capacity to expand to new business areas, increase risk appetite and demand by banks. Nonetheless, the framework for setting up national counter guarantees should take into account the diversity of the guarantee schemes in the region in terms of ownership (private / public / mixed), pricing (charged fees), and regulatory issues. For the regional counter guarantees, experiences from the European Union are sought in particular the role of the European Investment Fund.

To enhance understanding of the potential offered by counter guarantees and other structural and operational issues, representatives from the schemes in Portugal and Spain and a representative from the European Investment Fund will be invited for the next working group meeting.

The EMGN working group on counter guarantees includes expert members from the GCSs from the Mediterranean and from EMGN coordinating unit. The rapporteur of the working group is Mais Shaban, research fellow at the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association, founding promoter of EMGN.

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EMGN Summer Academy training workshop “Digital Transformation for Credit Guarantee Institutions” completed: Key highlights from the event

randall — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 17:31:38 +0000

The Summer Academy “Digital Transformation for Credit Guarantee Institutions: Framework, Tools and Strategies of Digital Transformation” was organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network (EMGN) on 20 – 23 July 2020, as part of its activities in the field of peer-to-peer learning and capacity development.

The EMGN Academy is promoted by the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA), the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The Summer Academy, conducted virtually, was co-organised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and hosted by Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation.

This digital summer academy was designed to support leaders of 9 Credit Guarantee Institutions (CGI) from 7 South and East Mediterranean partner countries to understand the digital transformation and to guide them on their transformation paths. Forty-two (42) participants joined the training workshop.

The Summer Academy addressed the broad topic of digital transformation from three perspectives: a strategic, an organizational and an innovation perspective. Accordingly, the methods consisted of a mixture of inputs from different resource persons, combined with highly interactive methods in adult education and a professional facilitator who guided the group through the whole process.

Key highlights from the EMGN Summer Academy training workshop:

Digital transformation for credit guarantee institutions will have a significant impact in terms of speed, cost, portfolio quality, profitability, scalability, and customer satisfaction. The importance of digitalization has been highlighted by the current COVID-19 crisis, as credit guarantee institutions are playing a crucial role in supporting an increased number of MSME’s during the crisis and speed is of essence.
Successful digital transformation requires clear prioritized business-driven initiatives, end-to-end transformation of journeys rather than optimization of processes, delivery through multi-skilled cross functional teams and here cultural transformation towards agile methods and mindset and shared accountability are also essential.
Stories from the field illustrate how digital transformation can be a long process that starts with a clear strategy or vision, a minimum viable product focusing on specific core transformation of processes, evolving overtime with gradual achievements based on feedback and continuous impact measurements.

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FIARI webinar Central Bank COVID-19 Response Call (6 May 3:00 PM Dubai time)

randall — Wed, 06 May 2020 17:47:08 +0000

The Financial Inclusion for the Arab Region Initiative (FIARI) organices a webinar with Arab Central Banks representatives from payment systems and financial inclusion departments with participation from AMF international partners in order to strengthen the regional exchange about policy interventions to ensure the financial health in the various ecosystems, thereby to safeguard responsible digital financial inclusion.

The webinar takes place on the Zoom platform and is accessible at the following link: https://zoom.us/j/91444613651?pwd=Z1BVSUF3eWRvczZxZ0ZQMU5SM1Nkdz09

DOWNLOAD DOCUMENT

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EMGN calls for action to mitigate the health and economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic

randall — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 17:58:11 +0000

With more than 1,5 million cases and 90.000 deaths worldwide (as of 9 April, 2020), the COVID-19 pandemic is having a deep impact on our daily lives, especially in Western Europe which has been severely hit by the pandemic but also in the South and East of the Mediterranean where numbers are steadily increasing. The policy measures taken by our respective governments, whether in the North, the East and South of the Mediterranean, to contain the spread of the virus and to mitigate its impacts on our healthcare systems, are and will have significant financial and socioeconomic consequences.

To prepare their response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, EMGN called its members to share their countries’ experiences on the socio-economic and financial mitigation measures taken by both governments and Credit Guarantee Schemes.

EMGN invites its members and other external stakeholders to join the webinar on COVID 19: What role for the credit guarantee schemes to mitigate the health and economic crises in order to exchange views, national experiences, practices and innovative ideas which can be useful to upgrade the response of CGSs to the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The webinar takes place on April 14, 2020 from 11:00 to 13:00 (CET) in English language under the moderation of Nagla Bahr, Managing Director of the Credit Guarantee Company (Egypt) and with active participation of EMGN members.

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Africa-Europe Alliance: Four new financial guarantees worth €216 million signed under the EU External Investment Plan

randall — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 22:34:16 +0000

The European Commission signed today four guarantee agreements worth €216 million that will help unlock €2 billion to invest in renewables, urban infrastructure and start-ups in Africa and the Neighbourhood. The guarantees were signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the German KfW Group and the Spanish development cooperation agency, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID), at the 4th Strategic Board meeting of the External Investment Plan (EIP).

Commenting on these financial guarantees, Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, said: “The agreements signed today, worth €216 million, will aim to unlock €2 billion in new investment in Africa and the EU Neighbourhood. These guarantees share in the risk and help mobilise and attract public and private investments. They will help boost the supply of renewable energy to communities and businesses in Africa and the EU Neighbourhood, help small businesses invest and create jobs, and make African cities more resilient to growing populations and the effects of climate change. They are an example of how the EU’s new Green Deal initiative benefits citizens of our partner countries outside the EU”.

Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi added: “We want to ensure an investment boost that will drive forward growth and provide concrete benefits and opportunities to the people, for example when it comes to big infrastructure projects or the support to young entrepreneurs. The direct support to investment is a key element, but so are good governance and a conducive business environment that helps attracting investment, both domestic and foreign. This is why the External Investment Plan supports our partner countries also in developing more effective legal frameworks, policies and institutions that promote economic stability, sustainable investment and inclusive growth.”

Four guarantees, one goal: more investment where it’s needed the most

These guarantees will significantly boost investment in renewable energy and increase access to finance for small businesses (MSMEs), while also improving investment in urban infrastructure and services in Sub-Saharan Africa and in the EU Neighbourhood.

Resilient City Development (RECIDE)

This €100 million guarantee agreement is signed with AECID, the Spanish development cooperation agency. It targets Sub-Saharan Africa and the EU Neighbourhood. It will help cities develop public-private partnerships and lower the risks for private investors involved in financing urban infrastructure, focusing on: energy efficiency, flood protection, public transport, water sanitation and solid waste treatment. The guarantee reassures lenders that they will recover at least some of their investment in the event of losses and lowers borrowing costs.

Boosting Investment in Renewable Energy

This €50 million guarantee agreement with EBRD will help to scale up investment in renewable energy in Ukraine and in the EU Southern Neighbourhood, in particular in Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia. It will substantially boost renewable energy potential. The guarantee will help to generate a total investment of up to €500 million and is expected to provide 340 MW of additional installed renewable energy capacity.

Supporting Investment in Sustainable Energy

This €46 million guarantee agreement with the KfW Group will help to expand the generation of renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa and cut the region’s carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency. It will partially cover the offtake risks in renewable energy projects, such as windfarms and solar energy. This guarantee will give many more people access to energy and reduce power shortages.

SME Access to Finance

This €20 million guarantee agreement with EIB is targeting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the EU Neighbourhood, with a particular focus on young entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs and start-ups. It will provide affordable funding to small businesses, with less access to finance because local financial institutions consider them as riskier clients. The guarantee is providing local banks and financial institutions a first loss credit protection. This guarantee will sustain around 18,000 jobs and support 1,000 small businesses.

These guarantees are part of the External Investment Plan, which aims to mobilize more than €47 billion by 2020 in public and private investment for development in countries neighbouring the EU and in Africa using €4.6 billion in EU funds.

Background information

The EU External Investment Plan has three pillars. The first is finance. Through financial guarantees, the EU mitigates the risk in countries with difficult environments so that private investors and development banks will lend to entrepreneurs or finance development projects. Three guarantee agreements had previously been signed so far: Nasira Risk-Sharing Facility and FMO Ventures, with the Dutch Development Bank and Archipelagos – One Platform for Africa, with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the Italian Development Bank, and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The plan’s second part is technical assistance. This funds experts who help authorities, investors and companies develop new projects. Technical assistance may include, for example, market intelligence and investment climate analysis, targeted legislative and regulatory advice, support to partner countries in implementing reforms, chains and identification, preparation, and help to carry out necessary investments.

The third pillar consists of investment climate support. The EU works closely with governments in partner countries to help them improve the conditions which investors need like a good business environment and political and economic stability. The EU also brings together governments and business to discuss investment challenges.

The External Investment Plan is a key part of the Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs, launched in September 2018 with the objective of creating 10 million jobs in five years, boosting investment and promote sustainable development. The von der Leyen Commission intends to use the full potential of the External Investment Plan to boost private capital and investment, including through further guarantee agreements.

For more information

Find out more about the EU External Investment Plan.

A factsheet on the EU External Investment Plan is also available.

To find out more about the Africa-Europe Alliance, see here.

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