Project Description
On March 5, 2025, MIGA issued guarantees for up to EUR 23.82 million, covering investments by Sonatel SA (“Sonatel Group") of Senegal to Orange Bissau, a telecom subsidiary in Guinea-Bissau, in the form of equity and retained earnings (“the Project”). The Project will support Orange Bissau’s operations in the country, as well as the expansion of modernization of the telecom network and mobile money services. The guarantee was issued for a period of four years against the risks of Expropriation (EX) and War and Civil Disturbance (WCD).
Sonatel Group is a leading telecom operator in West Africa, providing fixed, mobile and internet services. It is a market leader in Senegal and operates in 5 other countries in Africa (Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Cote d’Ivoire).
MIGA’s risk exposure under the guarantees is shared with the IDA Private Sector Window (“PSW”). The PSW involvement is via a shared first loss facility that assists in balancing the risk for the Project. The project meets the minimum concessionality principle and the amount of risk subsidy is estimated to be less than 1% of the total project cost over the envisaged 4-year guarantee period.
Environmental Categorization
The Project is category B under MIGA’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. Click here to view the Environmental and Social Review Summary.
Development Impact
The Project will support the Sonatel Group in Guinea-Bissau and will help boost economic growth and alleviate poverty by enabling access, use, and sharing of information. MIGA guarantee will enable increasing consumer access to mobile broadband and increasing financial inclusion through expanding the use of mobile money. The Project will also support Gender through (a) increasing the number of women employed in technical/digital roles, (b) increasing women’s representation at the senior management level, and (c) promoting women’s and underserved group’s access to ICT skills as well as telecom and mobile money.
The Project is aligned with the World Bank country engagement strategy for Guinea-Bissau by supporting the development and use of digital financial technology to maximize access to job opportunities, decentralize service delivery, including health and education services, and enable better engagement of citizens.
