The African Solidarity Fund (ASF), also known by its French name and acronym (Fonds de Solidarité Africain, FSA), is a multilateral, financial guarantee institution based in Niamey, Niger.
The purpose of the ASF is to contribute to the economic and social development of its regional member states by facilitating access to credit for states and public and private enterprises in its area of operation, to finance productive investment projects, and to mobilize local and external savings, in particular by providing loan guarantees on the financial markets.
[1] The Agreement establishing the African Solidarity Fund was adopted by the National Assembly of France and signed in Paris on 21 December 1976.
91-1401 indicates that – even if the Agreement of 21 December 1976 had fixed the seat "provisionally" in Paris – since its creation, the headquarters of the Fund had always been established de facto in Niamey, Republic of Niger.
The mission of the ASF is to contribute to the economic development and social progress of its African member states by facilitating, through its intervention techniques, access to the financial resources needed to carry out investment projects and other income-generating activities.
[10] The 23 member states of the ASF are Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Chad and Togo.
[13] The financial resources of the ASF consist of endowments resulting from shareholder (member state) capital payments, operational revenue, investment gained from earnings, grants, resources allocated to specific tasks related to third-party fund management, and revenue from fixed deposits.
The principal types of intervention are the guarantee, refinancing, interest rate subsidies, stake acquisition, third party fund management, and arrangement of structuring the financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
As of December 31, 2020, the cumulative approvals of guarantees reached EUR 1,164.1 million, in favor of 442 projects in 15 of the Fund's member states.
[21] In June 2024, the Director of the ASF announced an increase in the Fund's capital of around USD 286.8 million, thanks to support provided by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).
Moody's rating reflected ASF's moderate capital adequacy, balancing weak asset quality against moderate and improving leverage, the Fund's liquidity position supported by structurally positive net cashflows, and the low strength of member support in case of need.
[25] At a ceremony held on May 28, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, the ASF was awarded an A rating by the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI), after having been assessed in terms of its compliance with NDPSE standards (Standards, Prudential Frameworks, and Evaluation System), as well as its impact on the development of its member states.
[28] In January 2021, ASF's compliance with ISO 9001:2015 was certified by the UK branch of Veritas Certification Holding SAS.
[29] Compliance with ISO 9001:2015 may serve as an objective and verifiable indicator of ASF's strong performance in terms of operational management and fund administration.
Another 14 countries are in an advanced stage of joining the Fund: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Namibia, Sudan, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, and Uganda.