(Ecofin Agency) - Centre Financier aux Entrepreneurs (CFE) Tunisie, a Tunisian microfinance institution, plans to fund 5300 entrepreneurs up toTND40 million ($16.7 million) in 2018. 

The move is backed by an additional TND12 million provided by Tunisian American Enterprise Fund as part of its strategy to support microfinance institutions’ development and financing in Tunisia. 

CFE obtained its license in April 2015. Its main mission is to increase access to professional financial services by micro and small scale entrepreneurs in order to contribute to sustained prosperity and private sector’s emergence in the country.

Its main shareholders are AfricInvest, a private equity firm operating across various sectors in Africa, and Développement International Desjardins (DID), a Canadian non-profit organization, leader in the development and deployment of microfinance around the world for more than 45 years. 

Since 2016, Proparco (branch of the French development agency in charge of private sector) became one of CFE’s shareholders. The Tunisian microfinance is also financially supported by the International Financial Corporation (IFC), World Bank’s branch in charge of private sector in developing countries.

Chamberline Moko