KENYA – The board of Pan-African non-bank financial institution African Guarantee Fund (AGF), a small and medium-sized enterprises credit facilitator, has appointed Felix Bikpo as its chairman.

Mr Bikpo, who has been the CEO since its inception in 2011, replaces Andrew Temu, who has retired.

The appointment has seen the deputy CEO Jules Ngankam picked to head the Fund in an acting capacity effective from July 1 this year.

Welcoming his chairmanship appointment, Mr Bikpo said it affirms confidence in his leadership.

“We achieved a three-time exceptional AA-rating that shows we understood the gap and created a leader in the guarantee market. I am proud of the AGF I am leaving behind especially for the coming generation,” he said.

AGF, founded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Denmark represented by DANIDA and Spanish government represented by AECID development agencies, provides financial institutions with guarantee products for onward lending to SMEs to enable them fully play their role of driving the growth of African economies.

Mr Ngankam, who had worked for 15 years in financial institutions prior to joining AGF in 2013 as chief finance officer, was promoted to the deputy CEO in April 17, 2017.

He said AGF remains committed to facilitating local lenders to offer credit to SMEs especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I am grateful to be part of AGF’s journey to support financial institutions and help them overcome the challenges they face in serving SMEs. AGF remains committed to continue delivering the best quality service to our partners especially now during this challenging period,” he said.

In 2015, four years after its founding, AGF concluded its first external growth operations with the acquisition of the Guarantee Fund for Private Investment in Africa (GARI Fund) for an amount of $35 million.

At the end of this operation, the French Development Agency (AFD) became AGF’s fourth shareholder and in 2016, the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) became AGF’s fifth shareholder.

It also affiliated to AGF West Africa

In 2016, the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) became AGF’s fifth shareholder.

Under the leadership of NDF, AGF launched a Green Guarantee Facility to unlock financing for SMEs that invest in or market low-carbon technologies.

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