Societe Generale’s global reputation as a driver of green and sustainable principles and investment, plus its long presence across Africa, combine to make the Paris-based lender a clear winner of this award on the continent.
It is led by head of business, Africa, Mediterranean basin and overseas, Philippe Dubois.
The eye is immediately drawn to the sustainable flavour of its deal-making. A €242 million green loan to fund a new low-carbon clinker will help Vital subsidiary Societe Ouest Africaine des Ciments to support the decarbonization of Senegal’s economy. SocGen was lender and administrative officer on the deal.
Other important transactions stand out, notably a $511 million project financing deal for the 500-megawatt Gulf of Suez II wind farm, set to be the largest of its kind in Africa, capable of delivering clean power to more than 800,000 homes across Egypt.
SocGen was lender and mandated lead arranger on a €30 million financing facility to build the Tanene bridge in Guinea to improve social mobility in the west African state.
In March 2023, SocGen was joint bookrunner on a €1.25 billion project financing by African Development Bank; the deal secured the largest euro-denominated orderbook in the multilateral’s history. It was also MLA and lender on the Quilonga Grande water project, securing €420 million in November to finance a new pumping facility to boost the flow of fresh water to Angola’s capital, Luanda.
Financial inclusion is another key focus for the France-based multinational lender. Its aim is to deliver €200 million in total credit to microfinance organizations in sub-Saharan Africa and across the Maghreb by 2025 – double 2021 numbers. SocGen is also committed to doubling the value of loans disbursed to students across Africa, to €100 million, between 2022 and 2025.
Societe Generale’s role as lender and administrative officer on a €242 million green loan to fund a new low-carbon clinker will help Societe Ouest Africaine des Ciments support the decarbonization of Senegal’s economy
Another notable tie-up, signed in February 2023, saw SocGen invest directly in the first closing of the €87.5 million Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund, which will finance on- and off-grid solar power plants. The aim is to finance decentralized solar-power generation projects in central and west Africa, particularly in the likes of Nigeria, Senegal and Cameroon, countries where the grid is unreliable and electricity prices are high.
A far smaller but no less impressive deal, also signed in February 2023, saw SocGen act as exclusive structuring agent on a $2 million corporate-backed development impact bond for consumer goods firm Unilever and the SDG Outcomes Fund. It marks the world’s first corporate-backed DIB, helping impact investors provide working capital to households, with the aim of helping individuals generate value from domestic waste.
