Since July 2002, Total has supported the Industrial Pointe-Noire project, which led to the creation of the Pointe-Noire Industrial Association (APNI) in 2003. In Pointe-Noire, the economic capital of Congo, most activities are related to oil. However, there was no intermediate economic activity between micro businesses and the large industrial corporations operating in the country, such as Total E&P Congo. The association was therefore set up to help diversify the economy and support the emergence of viable small and medium-sized businesses in the area.

The association has already helped to:

• enhance capabilities,
• finance local businesses,
• and improve access to economic information.

Enhancing Capabilities

APNI has created two accredited management centers (CGA) to offer people who already operate a business affordable support with accounting, approval of their accounts and encouragement to move to the formal sector. Some 30 companies are currently benefiting from these services. They can also request help in formulating a strategy and preparing a business plan, which is in any case a prerequisite for companies seeking APNI financing.

Helping to Finance Local Businesses

An investment fund of 230 million CFA francs has been set up, and seven businesses have already been granted loans. The investment fund is composed of fund contributors, one of which is Total, with 70% of the capital, and two partner banks that manage the loans. Considered as quasi-equity by the banks, the loans will increase the financing capacity of businesses fourfold. This will alleviate the shortcomings of the banking system in Congo, thanks to the close relationship established with companies and to the weekly monitoring performed by the management centers.

                          
                   Both the Cagidiax company of the solar energy sector (left) and the Filau company, 
                manufacturing domestic soap, benefited from the APNI financing program in 2005

Improving Local Market Knowledge

To support the APNI, a market observatory was set up to provide a clearer picture of the market and the economic information needed by small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large companies in Pointe-Noire. Its role is to understand the current situation in order to carry out research using local capabilities whenever possible.

The observatory hopes to do this by:

• Creating a database of available economic studies and human resources (local professionals, including firms and consultants).
• Connecting suppliers with customers via an electronic portal aimed at managing local, and eventually international, business opportunities.
• Conducting research into promising industries.

The situation in terms of training has also been reviewed. The observatory has surveyed the courses and programs provided by technical and vocational training centers in Pointe-Noire and compared them with what companies expect. As a result, a special training project was set up within APNI, bringing together the training centers and the private sector to update course competency objectives under the technical supervision of the Ministry for Technical and Vocational Education.

APNI’s support for business development should eventually help to resolve issues related to the urban integration of small and medium-sized companies in the city of Pointe-Noire, such as land availability and ownership, infrastructure and pollution.

Federating Stakeholders to Support the Project

APNI’s teams comprise around 15 people supervised by a resource person made available by Total E&P Congo. They coordinate and leverage the resources and capabilities available in the APNI network.

Drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds, APNI’s members include

• the Chamber of Commerce, 
• the employers’ federation,
• large companies such as Total,
• local NGOs supporting micro businesses,
• and emerging local business associations.

They work with the French Embassy’s Cooperation Department. The network’s diversity ensures that there is a major partner for each flagship project and that the community of members embraces the same vision and actions.

The association itself grew out of a commitment to federating business partners around a shared project. It was created after 18 months of talks in participatory workshops with 130 local small businesses to identify what kinds of support small startups needed. Under the “Multiple Partners, Shared Projects” approach, all of the stakeholders, partners and beneficiaries have to be consulted before decisions are made. This is still the case, even though the association now has a hierarchical organization.