Announcement of World Bank Approves Four Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars for Senegalese Industrial and Tourism Development on September 23, 1976

eWorldBank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 77 /25 September 23, 1~76 WORLD BANK APPROVES $4.2 MILLION FOR SENEGALESE INDUSTRIAL AND~TOURISM DEVELOPMnff I / The World Bank has today approved a $4.2 mJllfon loan to the Socfete Ffnanciere s,negalaise pour le Developpement de 1' lndustrie et du Tourisme (SOFISEDIT) to ~elp finance the foreign exchange requfrement of enterprises in the industry and tourism sectors whfch are considered to offer attractive possibilities for development. The loan is· guaranteed by the Republic of Senegal. SOFISEDIT was established by the Government in 1q74 as an independent institution specialized in long-term financing of Industrial and tourism projects; a Bank Loan of $3 mf llion and an IFC equity Investment of ~230,000 were made available in 1974 towards SOFISEDIT's ~stablishment. Of the present loan, $4 million wil 1 help SOFISEDIT continue to develop as • a major source of long-term financfng for Senegalese entrepreneurs who have,so far, not had sufficient acces~ to funds for investment fn industrial and tourism enterprises . The remaining $200,000 will be provided to the Socie'te Natfonale d'Etudes et de Promotion lndustrie11e (SONEPI) to heip develop an fnteqrated scheme for assisting small-scale Senega,ese entrepreneurs In the informal artfsanal sub-sector. The World Bank project is expected,through investment Jn productive enterprises, to generate foreign exchange revenue and t"o increase employment opportunities. The loan is made directly to SOFISEDIT at 8.9% per annum, and is repayable substantially in conformity with the aggregate of the amortizatfon schedules for sub-loans for which withdrawals from the loan account are used. The foreign exchange risk would be borne by the Government, which would ~lso repay the $200,000 on-lent to SONEPI over ten years • .... ---~ .. .- -~· ... -----·-- --~- .. ---- ....~-·- ....................... -- .... _...,._ Note: Money ffgures are expressed in US dollar equivaients . •