BENIN RESILIENCE ECONOMIQUE COVID 19

Sovereign loan to part-finance a guarantee scheme for SMEs and mid-caps affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Benin, contributing to the measures put in place by the government in the context of its economic and social resilience response to the pandemic.

The proposed operation aims at addressing the long-standing credit constraints of agri-food value chain actors in Benin by de-risking agricultural lending for financial institutions. In doing so, the project is expected to contribute towards addressing the market failure of imperfect information and the ensuing obstacles to access to finance that agricultural stakeholders are confronted with. Simultaneously, the operation aims at supporting the country's COVID-19 recovery efforts through interventions that restore the livelihoods of agri-food value chains stakeholders, thus supporting business continuity and associated employment.

The Bank will require the Promoter to take all the requisite measures to ensure that final beneficiaries implementing sub-projects receiving EIB financing will comply with national legislation and the ElB's Environmental and Social Standards as well as international treaties and conventions signed and ratified by or otherwise applicable and binding in the country.

The Bank will require the Promoter to take all requisite measures to ensure that any procurement procedures carried out by final beneficiaries for the sub-projects that the Bank finances are in accordance with the Bank's Guide to Procurement

This operation is covered by the ELM Guarantee.

Under EFSD+ Guarantee