*By Franchy NAGO, Director of the Country Development Department BOAD Africa does not lack economic potential, but rather effective irrigation of its entrepreneurial fabric. Job creation, industrialization, energy transition, digitalization: the private sector is called upon to drive the continent's transformation.
Yet, for an immense majority of our companies, access to financing, markets, and expertise remains an uphill battle. Faced with this structural challenge, no single actor can act alone.
Multilateral Development Banks (BMD) and Chambers of Commerce operate within the same ecosystem, but too often along parallel trajectories. BMD mobilize long-term resources, structure complex financing, share risks, and finance large-scale transformation.
Chambers of Commerce, anchored in the daily lives of entrepreneurs, understand their constraints, represent their interests, promote dialogue, and provide territorial coverage. The diagnosis is simple: the Bank has powerful instruments without always reaching the subtle realities on the ground.
The Chamber of Commerce knows these needs precisely without having the financial capacity to meet them. Their alignment is not an option; it is an operational requirement.
This conviction is at the heart of the vision of the West African Development Bank (BOAD). Through its strategic plan "Djoliba… The Sequel" 2026-2030, the BOAD has committed to dedicating half of its interventions to the development of the private sector.
However, injecting liquidity is not enough. The critical challenge lies in directing these resources toward high-impact companies, at the right time, and in a form adapted to their level of maturity.
One of the main bottlenecks to financing in Africa lies in the preparation of applications. Many high-potential initiatives fail to mobilize funds due to a lack of a formalized business model, structured governance, or feasibility studies that meet financial requirements.
Together, BMD and Chambers of Commerce can remove this barrier. By combining technical assistance, business diagnostics, sectoral training, and investment forums, we can transform the pool of local ideas into a portfolio of bankable projects, ready for investors.
Faced with a vast development finance ecosystem, guarantee funds, credit lines, and support programs, entrepreneurs are often disoriented. Chambers of Commerce must play a role as a gateway and facilitator.
They must guide companies toward the appropriate instruments and relay weak market signals back to financial institutions. This synergy takes on its full meaning in the territorialization of development.
The needs of an agro-industrial project in a region are not those of a digital startup based in a capital city. The proximity of Chambers of Commerce, combined with the intervention capabilities of BMD, allows for tailor-made responses.
It is not about multiplying declarations of intent, but about converting dialogue into bankable and measurable partnerships. For BMD, this requires enhanced listening to local dynamics.
For Chambers of Commerce, this implies consolidating their role as a strategic interface between companies and donors. The future of African private sector financing will not be determined by the overlapping of initiatives but by their convergence.
By connecting the rigor of our financial instruments to the vitality of our territories, we will foster more competitive, more resilient companies that are fully capable of embodying the ambition of a prosperous Africa. Published on 14/10/26 11:34 Press Release