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Sub-Saharan Africa
Africa continues to be one of MIGA’s strategic priorities, especially as the financial crisis threatens to undo so many of the continent’s recent gains. Since its inception, MIGA has issued nearly $2.6 billion in guarantees for investments in Africa, supporting over 100 projects in 29 countries. MIGA’s support for projects in the region also underscores our commitment to the poorest countries as well as agency’s capacity to assist countries emerging from conflict and fragile states.
In 2009, MIGA supported a number of projects underwritten through the agency’s Small Investment Program. Among these was a guarantee of $4.3 million for an agribusiness project involving the installation and operation of a vegetable oil refinery in Boma, a port town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This project is expected to have a positive impact on the country’s economy by creating jobs for the local population, generating significant annual tax revenues for the government, and leading to local procurement of goods and services.
MIGA also signed a master contract of guarantee with the African Development Corporation, a business development company capitalized by German investors, to facilitate up to $100 million of investments to SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa.
During the fiscal year, MIGA provided guarantees for ten projects in the region, representing 38 percent of all projects supported by the agency during the year. At year-end, MIGA’s gross guarantee exposure stood at $939 million, equivalent to 13 percent of the agency’s outstanding portfolio.
Updated September 2009
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