Tunisia - Line of Credit to Tunisie Leasing (TL)

The proposed line of credit will support the Government’s SME- promotion policy. The Government’s objective is to buttress the pace of creation of SMEs and their modernization. In this regard, leasing which is one of the most appropriate instruments to meeting the requirements of SMEs, will play an important role considering that it helps to reduce the volume of funding to be mobilized and to relax the constraint of guarantee, which is so difficult to overcome for SMEs. Thus, the project consists of a credit line of EUR 8 million to Tunisie Leasing (TL). TL is a financial institution established on 8/10/1984 and geared exclusively towards the financing of SMEs, particularly the smallest among them, through operations of a limited amount. In general, TL enable its clients to procure light transport vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles, earth-moving equipment, industrial equipment, computer equipment, office buildings as well as industrial and commercial buildings. The line of credit to TL is based on an operational strategy to support leasing companies in the drive to enhance market intermediation to the benefit of SMEs. In seeking to enhance market intermediation to the benefit of SMEs, the Bank intends to support leasing companies in Africa by strengthening the existing ones and creating others.