Dakar, December 18, 2019: The Board of Directors of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) met for its 115th ordinary session in the premises of the headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) in Dakar (Senegal), under the chairmanship of Mr. Christian ADOVELANDE, Chairman of the Board of Directors, President of BOAD. After approving the minutes of its 114 th meeting held on September 25, 2019 in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), the Board examined and approved the updated 2019-2023 financial perspectives, the 2020-2022 program budget of BOAD and the presentation note of the CSR policy of the bank. The Board also approved new operations including 2 medium and long-term loans totaling 22 billion CFA francs, 1 short-term loan amounting to 5 billion CFA francs and 2 equity investments amounting to 38 , 2 billion FCFA. These operations bring BOAD’s total commitments (all operations combined) to 5,809.1 billion FCFA. The approved commitments relate to the partial financing of the following projects: Construction of a 30 MWC photovoltaic solar power plant at Blitta in Togo. The purpose of the project is the construction, operation and maintenance of a 30 MWp photovoltaic solar power plant in Blitta and the construction of its drainage works, to be connected to the interconnected network of Togo, with a view to supplying energy at CEET. The facilities of the said plant will be transferred to the State at the end of the concession, after 25 years of operation. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the diversification of the energy mix and to the reduction of production costs. It aims to: (i) ensure access to electricity for 30,000 additional households and the Blitta cotton ginning plant from 2021; ii) help improve the country’s electrification rate by increasing it from 45% in 2018 to 60% in 2022; and iii) contribute to improving the living conditions of the populations of the localities concerned. Amount of the operation: 7 billion FCFA . BOAD equity investment in the capital of the UEMOA seed and infrastructure funds . The purpose of the project is the participation of BOAD up to (i) 12,000 M FCFA to the Seed Fund and (ii) 26,238.28 M FCFA to the Infrastructure Fund. The objectives of the two Funds are to: (i) contribute to reducing the infrastructure deficit (estimated at USD 7,000 million / year, or approximately CFAF 4,137,000 million) in the area and accelerate the economic growth of the States of the Union; (ii) diversify the sources of financing of infrastructure in the region and increase the participation of the private sector; (iii) mobilize national and international institutional investors with a view to developing the region’s infrastructure; (iv) contribute to the development of the local private sector in UEMOA by supporting local project developers through funding for project preparation and (v) contribute to the development of the regional financial market. Amount of the operation: 38.2 billion FCFA Refinancing line in favor of ORABANK Côte d’Ivoire . This line is intended for the financing of Decentralized Financial Systems (SFD), with the possibility of also imputing, if necessary, credits to SMEs / SMIs. It is part of the framework (i) the third program initiated by BOAD and KFW aimed at supporting the activities of UEMOA Micros, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by improving their access to means of financing through the commercial banking sector and (ii) BOAD’s commitment to support the microfinance sector. Amount of the line: 15 billion FCFA. Short-term line in favor of BGFIBank Côte d’Ivoire (BGFIBank CI) for the partial refinancing of the cashew season 2019-2020 . The objective of this line is to strengthen the short-term financial resources of BGFIBank CI, CBI, to enable it to adequately support the cash requirements of the central purchasing companies for agricultural products (CAP) SA, Quang Thien Imex ( QTI) SA and TAN IVOIRE SA. The refinancing line will notably contribute to the purchase of around 69,000 tonnes of cashew nuts from producers in Côte d’Ivoire. Line amount : 5 billion FCFA In addition, the Board of Directors approved the proposal to reorganize the Bank’s loan conditions for the partial financing of the project to set up an industrial unit for the production of injectable solutions by the company PARENTERUS SA in bayakh in Senegal. The updated objective of the project is to go from a production of 1,984,320 units in year 1 to 7,275,840 units in year 2 to reach 10,913,760 units from year 3, i.e. 17% and 61% respectively. and 91% of the installed capacity of the plant. Amount of the operation: 2.9 billion FCFA . The Directors issued a favorable opinion on the state of recovery of receivables on BOAD loans as of November 30, 2019 and the note on the issue of compensation to populations within the framework of the financing of projects by the Bank. In addition, they took note of the following files: Report of the 32 th BOAD Audit Committee meeting.Summary of the main conclusions of the study on the capital adequacy of BOAD.Implementation report of the third BOAD bond loan on the international financial market.Orabank Côte d’Ivoire trust report (formerly the Regional Solidarity Bank group) for the 2019 financial year.Report of the Regional Workshop on Solar Energy in UEMOA, promoted by BOAD, BCEAO and the UEMOA Commission.Implementation report of the BOAD city construction project in Baguida, in the Togolese Republic. Closing the work, President Christian ADOVELANDE, on behalf of the Board of Directors, thanked the Senegalese authorities and the Governor of the BCEAO, for the warm and fraternal welcome that was reserved for the Directors, as well as for the material arrangements. and organizational structure that made it possible to hold this session in the best possible conditions. 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