Infrastructure financing

Infrastructure financing is a key factor in Africa's development. Already very involved through its expert teams based in Europe, and through its knowledge of the needs of the African continent, the Group has decided to work and reflect with local, regional and international financial partners on solutions to broaden the financing universe by:

• combining new sources of financing in local and hard currencies,
• extending the maturity of these financings, notably through enhancement mechanisms,
• contributing to the deployment of new products offered by investment funds or development agencies.

In this respect, Societe Generale has put in place a specific mechanism by creating platforms on the continent dedicated to infrastructure financing. Located in Algeria, Morocco and Côte d'Ivoire, these platforms are made up of dozens of experts and their mission is to deploy Societe Generale's expertise in structured finance in the countries where Societe Generale is present, as close as possible to its clients and their projects.

Thanks to this structure, which complements the services offered by Societe Generale's investment banking teams in Europe, the Bank has proved its worth and has set itself the ambitious new target of increasing its structured finance outstandings by 20% between 2021 and 2025.

Today,  Societe Generale Group has become a major player in infrastructure financing in Africa. 

The bank is the first French bank to finance infrastructure in Africa over the last 5 years, in a wide variety of fields:

• The environment, particularly concerning access to water,
• Transport: construction of roads and railways, financing of port and airport facilities,
•  Energy production and distribution, with the financing of hydroelectric, wind or solar power projects,
• Health, including the financing of hospitals,
• Telecoms, which play an important role in the economic development of many African countries and allow for greater inclusion of local populations.