Early Warning System

Countries

Ivory Coast

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Sep 9, 2026

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Baobab Côte d'Ivoire

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Climate and Environment
Education and Health
Finance

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 10.70 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 9.2
Converted using 2026-09-09 exchange rate.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 35.49 million

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Oct 9, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Sep 13, 2026

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to bank provided information, the project is an investment of up to XOF 6 billion (EUR 9.2 million equivalent) in a senior unsecured bond issued by Baobab Côte d'Ivoire, for a total issuance size of up to XOF 20 billion (EUR 30.5 million).

The proceeds of this bond issuance will primarily support on-lending to women-led MSMEs (80%), complemented by financing for private education facilities serving low- and middle-income households (10%) and eligible green projects (10%) in Côte d'Ivoire.The project will help narrow the gender financing gap by increasing access to credit to women-led businesses, thereby promoting financial inclusion and women's economic participation.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

The EBRD investment is up to 30% in Baobab Côte d'Ivoire bond issuance (up to XOF 6 billion or EUR 9.2 million). The proceeds of the EBRD investment will be used to support on-lending to women-led MSMEs (80%), affordable private education (10%) and eligible green projects (10%).

The total issuance size is up to XOF 20 billion (EUR 30.5 million). IFC is participating as an anchor investor. The remaining investor base is expected to consist of banks and other institutional investors.

Financial Intermediary

A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.

Baobab Group (Financial Intermediary)

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Rokia Bamba
rbamba@baobab.com
+225 05 75 582 270
+225 22 41 13 46
www.baobab.com/ci
1515 Rue des Jardins, II Plateaux Vallon (Cocody), 06 BP 1664 Abidjan 06, Côte dIvoire

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html