34383 - WCSS SG GHANA

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Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

34383

Company Name

SOCIETE GENERALE GHANA LTD

Date SPI Disclosed

Apr 2, 2014

Country

Ghana

Region

Africa

Projected Board Date

May 8, 2014

Environmental Category

FI-2 - Limited

Status

Completed

Last Updated Date

Jun 12, 2021

Department

Regional Industry - FIG Africa

Industry

Financial Markets

Previous Events

Approved : May 8, 2014
Signed : Jun 11, 2014
Invested : Dec 19, 2014

Sector

Commercial Banking - General

Project Description

SG Ghana is a tier II universal bank in Ghana. The Bank, formerly known as SG-SSB Limited, was incorporated in Ghana in 1976 with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (“SSNIT”) as its sole shareholder. In 2003, SG Financial Services Holding, a wholly owned subsidiary of Societe Generale SA, acquired 51% of the capital of the Bank and in 2009 increased the stake to 52.24%, making it the majority shareholder. The Bank is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (“GSE”) and provides banking services to corporate, retail and SME clients through a network of 37 branches across Ghana.

IFC will offer Societe Generale Ghana (“SG Ghana” or “the Bank”) a senior loan of up to US$30 million with a maturity of 1 year, renewable up to two times at IFC’s discretion for a total period of 3 years. The purpose of the IFC investment is to provide trade-related, working capital loans to importers and distributors of critical energy and food commodities and machinery and equipment.

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	30.0
Equity

Development Impact

The Facility is expected to have the following specific development impacts:
i) Increased Access to Financing for SMEs: Limited access to finance is considered a key constraint to private sector growth. Increased access to finance is indispensable to grow the competitiveness of SMEs. By directly financing the short-term needs of a local bank to support SME trade and working capital finance needs, the Project will support SMEs and will have a positive impact on economic activity in an IDA country.

ii) Support Financing to Agribusiness Value Chain: By supporting the expansion of SG Ghana''s short-term loan portfolio directed at SMEs operating in agri-commodities, IFC will aim to strengthen the value chain by allowing traders and distributors to increase their imports and make foodstuffs more available in the country.

iii) Support access to energy in Ghana: Continuous energy distribution is critical for sustaining key economic activities, including transportation, cooking and the operation of businesses. A steady supply of critically needed fuel through regular channels will help to improve affordability and help diminish the risk of any disruptions in the country''s supply chains.

-Unique Role in Addressing Trade and Short-Term Finance Gap: As part of its trade support activities, IFC is uniquely positioned to make a sector-wide intervention by providing short-term loans to banks to finance import-oriented SMEs'' working capital needs. IFC can play a unique role in strengthening trade facilitation for SMEs in Ghana, particularly through a comprehensive suite of trade and short-term finance solutions. Through IFC''s current and, possibly, future interventions, local Ghanaian banks will have additional US$ resources to on-lend to local SMEs that may not have had access to this type of product.

- SME Support: In Ghana, with the inroads made through GTFP, IFC can play a leading role in formulating a comprehensive SME trade support program to promote sustainable economic growth. Following the establishment of the GTFP lines, IFC will enhance its support for SME trade through the Project, thereby providing necessary working capital to SMEs to run their day-to-day operations and grow competitively. This will support job creation and to diversify the country''s economic base.

- Support SG Ghana''s Expansion of its Short-Term Loan Portfolio: Through the Project and the WCSS product, in particular, IFC will enable SG Ghana to diversify its short-term funding sources; thereby, improving its risk profile. Such support will deepen the subsidiary''s private sector lending capacity and allow it to expand its product offering.

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

The project has been categorized as FI-2 according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review Procedures. The project will cover working capital loans to SMEs and corporate clients in Ghana to facilitate the importation of agri-commodities, machinery, agro-chemicals, crude oil etc. The environmental and social risks and impacts associated with these activities are considered limited and can be readily addressed through known mitigation measures. The applicable requirements for this project are the Exclusion List and applicable national environmental and social laws in Ghana.

The main environmental and social risks and impacts relate to the ability of SG Ghana to identify and manage the E&S risks and impacts associated with its lending activities. SG Ghana has recently developed an Environmental and Social Management System which identifies the procedures of E&S risk management which include screening against an Exclusion List, compliance with national laws as well as the Performance Standards for high risk projects. The bank has also appointed E&S Officers to oversee the implementation of the management system. The client will be required to commence the implementation of the ESMS to meet the requirements of this project. The client will also be required to revise the existing Exclusion List to include additional IFC clauses.

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

Mr. Gilbert Hie
SG Ghana, Head office
Ring Road Central
Accra
Tel: +233 (0) 302 202 072
Fax: +233 (0) 302 248 920
Email: mailto:gilbert.hie@socgen.com

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IFC Corporate Relations
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-3800
Fax: 202-974-4384
E Mail: Webmaster

Local Access of Project Documentation

Environmental Protection Agency
P.O. Box M326
Accra
Ghana
Telephone: 0302 664 697/8

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Summary of Investment Information (SII) is prepared by IFC to disclose a factual summary of the main elements of the potential investment. It also includes findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding this potential investment. The purpose of the SII is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this SII is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein. It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors’ consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following SII is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP) that went into effect on January 1, 2012.

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Task Title & Description	Anticipated Completion Date	Status	Comments	Completion Date
Nominate officers		Completed	Completed
Establish SEMS		Completed	Completed
Formalize procedures		Completed	Completed
Develop guidelines		Completed	Completed

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