• New agency aims to mobilize public savings for business financing

• Initiative targets key sectors including agriculture and mining

• Move responds to limited access to credit for SMEs

The government of Niger has adopted a decree creating the Agency for the Promotion of Public Shareholding for Community Entrepreneurship (Apapec-Niger), during the Council of Ministers meeting held on April 22.

According to the official statement, the agency’s main mission is to mobilize public savings through popular shareholding to finance community-based enterprises.

By promoting public shareholding, the government aims to involve citizens more directly in financing the real economy, while channeling resources toward strategic sectors such as agriculture, livestock, agro-industry, mining, and information and communication technologies.

With this initiative, Niger is following the example of Burkina Faso, which launched a similar structure in 2023—the Agency for the Promotion of Community Entrepreneurship (APEC)—to direct national savings toward productive investments. Three years later, that program has supported projects such as tomato processing units and equity participation in a gold mining operation.

In Niger, however, the operational details of Apapec—including savings collection mechanisms, project selection criteria, and governance rules—have not yet been officially disclosed.

Limited access to credit

The creation of Apapec comes amid ongoing constraints in financing the Nigerien economy. Access to credit remains limited for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), despite existing public support mechanisms. In 2023, credit to the private sector accounted for only about 11% of GDP, below levels observed in the subregion.

The banking sector also operates in a challenging environment marked by declining depositor confidence, the accumulation of government payment arrears, and trade disruptions linked in part to prolonged border closures. According to the World Bank, these factors reduce banks’ ability to finance productive activities, reinforcing the need for alternative financing mechanisms.

While the banking sector accounts for about 95% of Niger’s financial system, it serves only a limited portion of the population, highlighting structural gaps in financial inclusion.

Sandrine Gaingne