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Oragroup received €40 million from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). The funds which will be dispatched to various subsidiaries of the group such as Orabank Togo, will mainly be used to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs). According to Binta Touré Ndoye, Managing Director of Oragroup, this financing will help the region by creating jobs, accelerating industrialization and local processing, creating value, redistributing wealth, fighting poverty and contributing to the emergence of the middle class.

According to law firm Hogan Lovells, the launch of Sukuk bonds by three West African governments will open up a vast financing channel for the region. Hogan Lovells advised the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) as lead arranger on the issuance of three sovereign Sukuks in West Africa. These include Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and the Republic of Togo. The Sukuks were listed on the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Altogether with the debut issuances for Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire, the combined listing value was CFA 766 billion. Imran Mufti, who led the Hogan Lovells’ team, said the landmark Sukuk bonds will enhance the development of Islamic finance in West Africa.

Senegal raised FCFA200bn (around $341m) from a sukuk that raised FCFA50bn more than originally planned. Sukuk Etat du Senegal offers 6% a year profit margin, paid half yearly with a two-year grace period. The asset is backed by shares in the Léopold Sedar Senghor international airport. Senegal was the first country in the West African Economic and Monetary Union’s (WAEMU) to issue sukuk, with a debt deal worth FCFA100bn back in June 2014. Ivory Coast aims to raise FCFA150bn as part of a two tranche FCFA300bn sukuk program set up last year. The transaction is expected to deliver a yield of 6.5% and have a tenor of seven years. Meantime, Togo also aims to raise FCFA150bn through a 10-year sukuk offering a 6.5% yield.

#Senegal has upsized its second sale of sovereign sukuk, with #Ivory Coast and #Togo expected to close their own deals in coming days. Senegal issued a debut sukuk in 2014 and returned to the market in July with a 10-year deal paying a 6% profit rate backed by assets from Dakar's international airport. Senegal's sukuk raised a total of 200 billion CFA francs ($341.5 million) from an initial plan for 150 billion CFA francs. Ivory Coast is completing a sale of 150 billion CFA franc worth of 7-year sukuk, while Togo aims to raise 150 billion CFA francs from its debut sukuk, which has a 10-year maturity and 6.5% yield. Niger has also signed up for a sukuk programme to raise 150 billion CFA francs in two phases, although a timing has yet to be determined.

Ivory Coast plans to complete a sale of 150 billion CFA francs ($263 million) worth of Islamic bonds, following Togo's debut sale of sovereign sukuk launched last month. The two West African nations join Senegal in tapping the market for sukuk, expanding the use of Islamic financing options outside the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The Ivory Coast will sell the 7-year sukuk using ijara with the subscription period closing on Aug. 31. This represents the second phase of a 300 billion CFA franc sukuk programme set up last year by the Ivory Coast. Togo plans to complete the sale of its sukuk later this week, aiming to raise 150 billion CFA franc with a 10-year maturity and a 6.5% yield. The lead arranger for both the Togo and Ivory Coast sukuk is the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD).

Togo has reportedly signed three funding agreements worth 194 million U.S. dollars with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The agreements were signed Wednesday in Jeddah during the visit to Saudi Arabia by Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe. The first agreement worth around 131 million U.S. dollars concerns the construction of Adoua-Kara road which links five regions in Togo. Its completion will enable Burkina Faso to have direct access to Lome port. The second funding agreement will go towards improving and expanding access to basic education as well as supporting concerned institutions. The third agreement concerns the energy sector. It will see 46 million dollars spent on electrification of 43 villages in northern Togo.