Fresh mandate for Capped-Sa
Brice Voltaire Etou Obami took office this week as the provisional administrator of the Caisse de Participation à la Promotion des Entreprises et à leur Développement, better known as Capped-Sa, pledging to restore the state-backed financier’s credibility.
During a brief ceremony in Brazzaville, the chartered accountant told staff that Capped-Sa must once again be “a locomotive for Congolese entrepreneurship”, according to the Congolese Information Agency, underlining faster loan processing, wider guarantees and stricter risk controls as early targets.
Seasoned auditor at the helm
Etou Obami, 55, built his reputation auditing public accounts across Central Africa after studies in Paris and Brussels. He founded Exco Cacoges in 2009 and has scrutinised oil revenues, telecom cash flows and sovereign debt for governments, multilateral lenders and NGOs.
His credentials include approval by the Central African Banking Commission, COBAC, and the stock-market watchdog COSUMAF. Officials from both regulators said his appointment would help align Capped-Sa with regional Basel-inspired prudential ratios now entering into force.
Regulators and balance sheet challenges
Capped-Sa, created in 1982 to channel savings toward small firms, saw its lending book shrink by almost half between 2015 and 2022 amid lower oil receipts and the pandemic, according to an internal audit shared with lawmakers last year.
The institution nevertheless maintains a network of eight agencies and holds a strategic partnership with the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, which could be mobilised again for co-financing, Etou Obami hinted after meeting development partners on Tuesday.
Unlocking finance for MSMEs
His first technical move will be to reopen the dormant credit-guarantee window, a tool that previously covered up to 60 percent of risk on micro, small and medium-enterprise loans, easing collateral hurdles cited by many start-ups in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.
Capped-Sa also plans to revive its equity-participation arm, allowing it to take temporary stakes in promising firms. “Long-term capital is the missing oxygen for our innovators,” said Serge Ibango, head of the national start-up association, after being briefed on the roadmap.
The administrator is betting on digital onboarding to cut costs. A pilot platform developed with the national agency for information systems will let clients lodge applications by phone, track decisions and sign contracts electronically, mirroring solutions already deployed by two commercial banks.
Anchoring economic diversification goals
Policy makers view the overhaul as feeding into President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s strategy to lift non-oil growth to 4 percent by 2025. The Ministry of Economy said stronger SME finance could add one point to GDP, citing a study prepared with the World Bank.
International partners have signaled support. A spokesperson for the African Development Bank confirmed exploratory talks on a 25-million-euro credit line, conditional on improved governance metrics. Similar negotiations are progressing with the French Development Agency, according to two officials involved in the discussions.
For analysts, the key test will be asset quality. “Capped-Sa has to upgrade borrower monitoring and provisioning, otherwise new liquidity will evaporate,” cautioned Ulrich Makosso, banking lecturer at Marien Ngouabi University, pointing to past non-performing loan ratios above 20 percent.
Leadership, community and talent
Etou Obami’s academic bent may help. He lectures on the OHADA accounting system and wrote a reference manual on auditing petroleum costs, used by several CEMAC countries in renegotiating production-sharing contracts, according to the Regional Training School of Magistracy.
Beyond spreadsheets, the new head is known for community work in the Kimbanguist Church and an agro-pastoral project in Koundzoulou, north of Brazzaville. Colleagues say the mix of discipline and social engagement could resonate with entrepreneurs operating far from major cities.
Inside Capped-Sa, staff retention will be another hurdle. Several senior risk officers left during the pandemic wage freeze. Management says a performance-linked incentive scheme, now awaiting board approval, should stem departures and attract graduates trained under the government’s youth employment plan.
Next checkpoints and political backing
COBAC inspectors are expected in September for a follow-up examination. Their previous visit in 2022 resulted in twelve recommendations, ranging from improved anti-money-laundering software to a clearer succession policy. Etou Obami told reporters all corrective measures are on schedule.
Parliament’s Economic and Financial Affairs Committee will hear the administrator in October. Chairperson Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo said deputies want assurances that the revamped institution will prioritise women-led businesses, which currently receive less than 15 percent of outstanding loans.
If the blueprint succeeds, Capped-Sa could again become a flagship for regional integration, mirroring Cameroon’s FOGAPE and Gabon’s FODEX. “We are not starting from scratch; the legal framework is solid, the market is eager. Execution is the watchword,” Etou Obami insisted during his closing remarks to reporters.