SANAD and Compagnie Internationale de Leasing boost financing for entrepreneurs in Tunisia

Investment of EUR 6 million to support business growth of “missing middle”

Luxembourg and Tunis, 19 December 2019 – The SANAD Fund for MSME (SANAD) has announced a renewed partnership with Compagnie Internationale de Leasing (CIL) to expand financing options for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Tunisia. Through a senior loan of EUR 6 million, the international impact investment fund is contributing to CIL’s ability to support the development of this important but underserved segment of the Tunisian economy.

CIL is among the five largest leasing institution in the country, with a strategic focus on entrepreneurs. With almost 99% of its lease portfolio provided to MSMEs, CIL’s client base makes it an optimal partner in helping SANAD channel resources to local business owners – a crucial driver of economic growth and employment in the country. This second SANAD investment will be used to offer financial products to both urban and agricultural MSMEs, following the successful utilization of the first SANAD loan to CIL in 2017. 

SANAD Board Chairperson Dr. Daniela Beckmann said: “Leasing companies play a key role in helping SANAD pursue its mission of financial inclusion and job creation in the Middle East and North Africa. By enabling MSMEs to access investment financing without the need for additional collateral, valuable partners like Compagnie Internationale de Leasing can serve as a crucial resource for less-developed and less formalized enterprises, which make up a significant proportion of employers in Tunisia.”

Compagnie Internationale de Leasing CEO Salah Souki stated: “We are delighted to enhance our partnership with SANAD to further support MSMEs in Tunisia. Through this loan, we will aim to provide financing to a larger number of small businesses across the country and to develop both urban and agriculture smaller enterprises.”

About SANAD 

The SANAD Fund for MSME finances micro, small and medium enterprises and low-income households in the Middle East and North Africa via qualified local lenders. SANAD thereby fosters economic development and job creation – including youth employment – agriculture, affordable housing, and innovations in finance and financial technologies. SANAD strives to meet these goals by providing debt and equity financing to its local partners. The SANAD Technical Assistance Facility multiplies the fund’s development impact and outreach through capacity-building with partner institutions, developing financial infrastructures according to the principles of responsible finance and conducting much required R&D. 

An impact investment fund advised by Finance in Motion, SANAD’s investors include the KfW Development Bank, which initiated the fund; the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); the European Union; Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO); OeEB, the Development Bank of Austria; Germany’s GLS Bank and GLS Treuhand; the Dutch development bank FMO; and Calvert Impact Capital. 

For more information on the SANAD Fund for MSME, please visit: www.sanad.lu  
For more information on Finance in Motion, please visit: www.finance-in-motion.com  

About Compagnie Internationale de Leasing

Compagnie Internationale de Leasing (CIL) is a leasing company organized under the laws of Tunisia, listed on the Tunisian stock exchange and majority controlled by a group by of local investors.

CIL supports mainly the SMEs and individual professionals of deferent sectors of activity in their growth and development, through a wide network of agencies that covers all regions of Tunisia and competent professionals.

Media contact – SANAD

Nikki Eggers
Senior Officer, Marketing & Communications
Phone: +49 (0)69 271 035-470 
Email: press@sanad.lu

Media contact – Compagnie Internationale de Leasing

Mourad Kallel 
Administrative and Accounting Director
Phone: +216 71 130 217
Email: Kallel.mourad@cil.fin.tn