In Senegal, the supply of credit intended for the private sector is very low despite a very strong demand from businesses, and in particular from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which represent more than 90% of the economic fabric.
The gap between supply and demand for SME financing was estimated by the national consultation on women's credit in 2010 at more than 500 billion CFA francs. In addition, a study carried out by UEMOA in 2010 revealed that the two (2) main causes of rejection of bank loan applications were: - the lack of guarantees in 51% of cases; - insufficient quality in the technical assembly of files in 35% of cases.
Poor access to financing for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) have thus been for many years one of the major obstacles to the country's economic growth and development, significantly reducing the competitiveness of the private sector.
Thus, to enable MSMEs representing 90% of the economic fabric to absorb the necessary financing, the State of Senegal created by decree in May 2013 the Guarantee Fund for Priority Investments (FONGIP).
FONGIP was set up to act in complementarity with other public entities in the financial ecosystem in order to mobilize public and private financial resources intended for MSMEs by providing greater comfort to financial institutions.
It therefore constitutes an innovative response adapted to social demand by allowing:
