A small wind of optimism or relief blew during the video conference on the theme, " What is the impact on the financing of enterprises in the economic and monetary Union west african (Uemoa) ". Organized on 6 June by BPI France (the French Agency for the financing of companies), in Abidjan, this webinar brought together stakeholders from the world of finance to overhaul the economic situation of the Waemu, and how companies crossed in this period.
François Sporrer, head of the economic department regional West Africa at the directorate-general of the French Treasury recalled that the pandemic was "relatively untouched" Africa. For the Uemoa region, the number of cases amounts to 15 000 and 400 deaths, according to data from the american university John Hopkins university. "It is important to emphasize that the continent is relatively well-preserved to understand the current issues, i.e. to prevent the health crisis, ultimately limited, not be transformed into economic and social crisis by an excess of measures of protection or by the fact of transmission of the slowdown of the world economy," he says.
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quick response
The speed of the reaction of the international community, but also of the countries involved in the design of response plans for public health and economic has certainly helped to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. "The IMF has done very quickly and it is necessary to pay tribute to him, it has to be disbursed in a few weeks nearly $ 2 billion for the eight countries of the Uemoa zone, roughly half of their budgetary needs estimated additional. For the Ivory Coast, 886 million has been disbursed ", explains François Sporrer. The world Bank, the european Union, but also the african development Bank, also undertake. All of these support measures provide a burst of oxygen into the treasury of these countries. On the regional level, institutions have responded quickly. The central Bank of the States of West Africa (BCEAO) has quickly taken a series of measures to ensure access to liquidity for the banking system within the zone.
"We can applaud the measures taken at the level of the central Bank to address liquidity risk and credit risk through a specific planning," notes Marc Guigni, deputy director general of the Société générale Côte d'ivoire, which also explains that this " relaxation of the rules of default, will allow us to continue to support our clients in spite of the difficulties ". The bank offers a discount, or even free of some banking services to enable companies in difficulty to lessen their expenses.
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Measures for enterprises
measures of leniency with tax reports due on the taxes and employer contributions, the judgment of the tax controls, and the raising of certain taxes) to ease the cash flow of enterprises have been announced. "We are at the beginning of the implementation of these measures, more direct, to the formal and informal sectors, the industrial sector, services and agriculture, with direct aid, including grants for smaller businesses, the mechanisms of loan guarantees to encourage banks to reschedule or help their business customers," explains François Sporrer.
The plan of support in Côte d'ivoire is $ 1,700 billion francs (2.5 billion euros), which corresponds to 5 % of GDP of côte d'ivoire. Several support funds have been created, including a fund for large companies, which will mainly provide guarantees for bank loans. For SMES in the formal sector, a guarantee mechanism will be put in place, as well as grants, and for the informal sector, a fund with a budget of 100 billion francs CFA is created, and will provide aid in the form of donations. A fund for the agricultural sector, in order to maintain the supply of inputs and preparation of the following crops is also expected. All of these funds will be matched by the State of côte d'ivoire and donors.
" The banks have in their vast majority redeveloped their policy for granting credit, in the idea of being able to overcome the difficulties encountered and overcome this crisis for the business. We observed slowdowns of bank flows, voltages of cash in certain customers ", says Marc Guigni. The bank needs to adapt its organization, focus on agility, quickness and adopt a proactive approach vis-à-vis its customers. "The injection of new funds has allowed some companies to spend the crisis ", he said.
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digitizing
"We have continued to strengthen our digital strategy through innovation and the dematerialization of banking operations, but also the dematerialization of requests for credit," he continued. Applications are submitted online, reports are due, for companies that require it, have been made. Each speaker noted the importance of digitization to mitigate the crisis, but also to position itself in the future. "The digital revolution will continue, according to Laureen Kouassi Olsson, investment director for the fund Amethis West Africa, and continues :" We have positioned ourselves to assist it in particular in the health sector which is a priority, but also in the distribution sector and education. "
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financial market
The Grants have plunged and Africa has not been spared. The decline was more pronounced for the Scholarships the most connected to, such as Cairo, Lagos, or Johannesburg. The regional Exchange securities (BRVM), which coast 46 companies, is not passed through the crisis. "In the month of march, we lost 8,16 % on the composite index, then we ironed in the green in April, and we have seen a slight decline in may. The good news is that our market is still less volatile compared to other markets of africa and the rest of the world, " said Felix Edoh Kossi Amenounve, director-general of the BRVM. He also appreciates the performance of the bond market, which has remained highly dynamic, with an increase of 35 % of the bond issues. "Other good news : we have not registered any default on the market, all States, all institutions, all private sector companies have met their commitments in terms of interest, repayment of borrowings and payment of dividends by listed companies ", he says.
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Resilience
" the Overall impact is relatively limited, the fact that the confinement in the Ivory Coast has not been total. Countries such as Ghana and Nigeria, which have experienced confinement more strict and show a high dependence on oil (prices have fallen), have clearly suffered more, " says Laureen Kouassi Olsson. Thanks to a more diversified economy, "we're pretty optimistic," she says.
" According to the IMF, the growth of the Waemu will be of the order of 2.3 % instead of the 6.3 per cent expected before the crisis, which, however, is not bad, if one considers that for Africa as a whole, the IMF expects a contraction of 1.4% of GDP. What is even more interesting, it is expected to rebound. The countries that are the least impacted will rebound shortly and those who will be most impacted are going to have a curve in V. The most spectacular being that of the Ivory Coast, the growth of which 2021 is expected at 8.7 %. The highest growth rates in sub-saharan Africa ", explains François Sporrer. Even if uncertainties persist, the stakeholders have, overall, shown a certain form of optimism for the exit from the crisis.
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