The African Solidarity Fund (ASF) was created on December 21, 1976 with the mission of facilitating the economic development of its African member states by acting as a catalyst for financial systems to enable States and public and private enterprises on the one hand, access to loans intended to finance productive investment projects, and on the other hand, by facilitating the mobilization of local and external savings, notably through guarantee interventions on the financial markets.

To fulfill its mission, the FSA had three intervention techniques: the guarantee of bank loans and bond issues, the improvement of interest rates and the extension of the duration of loans by granting loans. refinancing advances.The FSA, with headquarters in Niamey, Niger, became effective in September 1979