Description
Access to finance remains a genuine challenge to micro and small and medium-sized enterprises across the ACP regions, but local private enterprise development is a major driver of economic growth, revenue generation and international competiveness. The EIB has made developing the private and financial sectors a priority across all non-EU mandates. The ACPs are no exception, and our investments yield results.
The ACP Investment Facility (IF), a revolving fund dedicated to private sector development in the regions, represents the Bank’s method of supporting private sector development. Since it was launched in 2003, up to the end of 2014, we have channelled almost EUR 4.5bn through the IF, to over 200 projects. 90% of these have been in the private sector, stimulating entrepreneurship by increasing access to finance for SMEs in the ACPs.
