Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC)

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Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) is a public investment bank established by the Tunisian Government.
What are the main aims and objectives?

The CDC has several overarching strategic priorities including fostering economic growth, facilitating the energy and ecological transition, and enhancing social inclusion. It seeks to drive impactful investments that contribute to critical Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as clean energy, climate action, and sustainable community development. In particular the bank has identified boosting private sector investment and promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through equity or quasi-equity financing and support as one of its most critical functions. 

How does the program work?

The CDC plays a key role in supporting entrepreneurs and the startup ecosystem in several ways:

Financing Startups and SMEs

  • The CDC provides equity and quasi-equity financing to innovative startups and SMEs to support their growth
  • It supports the InnovaTech Fund alongside Smart Capital which is a $43 million investment fund aimed at funding innovative SMEs or high-growth technologies. SMEs typically receive between 1 and 7 million dinars. 
  • It has also built the Anava fund of funds which invests in venture capital funds dedicated to startups of all stages. The key mechanism for distributing funds is through co-investments aimed to promote key sectors. 

Supporting the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

  • The CDC assists entrepreneurship ecosystem players like incubators and accelerators to enhance their programs, including for women-led startups and those in interior regions
  • It partners with organizations like ATUGE (Association of Tunisian Engineers from Top Schools) to mobilize the national diaspora to boost entrepreneurship in Tunisia

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

  • The CDC receives technical assistance from Expertise France to update its entrepreneurship support strategy and build the skills of its teams
  • It works with the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII) to restructure the network of 28 public incubators and provide better services to project initiators

Financing Entrepreneurial Initiatives

What is the overall cost?

It has been reported that the CDC had assets worth $2.59 billion in 2021. It is also known that the institution has received funding from international institutions for specific initiatives including a $75 million loan from the World Bank and a €4.6 million grant from the French Development Agency (AFD). 

Additionally the InnovaTech Fund is worth $43 million and the initial target size of the Anava Fund of Funds was €100 million (approx. $108 million). 

How was it implemented?

The CDC was founded in Tunis on September 13, 2011 through legislation establishing it as a public institution.

The relationship between Smart Capital and the CDC is crucial to their work supporting the country’s startup ecosystem and innovative SMEs. Smart Capital is the management company approved by the Financial Markets Council to implement the Startup Tunisia initiative and is responsible for managing the Anava fund of Funds and InnovaTech Fund. By contrast the CDC is the anchor investor and sponsor of both funds. In essence, The CDC provides the long-term financing while Smart Capital manages the investment funds and ecosystem support.

From 2016 to 2021, Boutheina Ben Yaghlane served as the CDC's Director General, leading its implementation.

What impact has been measured?

The Anava fund has invested 4 million euros in the Janngo Capital Startup Fund to support startups in French-speaking Africa, particularly those founded by women. Anava also invested $5.2 million in Silicon Badia's BIF2 fund to finance series A and B tech startups in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Lebanon. 

However, there is no overall information about the wider impact of the work of the CDC on the startup ecosystem. 

What lessons can be learned?
  1. Importance of a national development institution: The CDC plays a crucial role as Tunisia's public investment arm to finance projects aligned with national sustainable development priorities like entrepreneurship, infrastructure, climate action etc. Having such an institution can help mobilize long-term financing for strategic sectors.
  2. Mainstreaming climate action: The CDC has made climate change a key strategic priority, integrating it across its operations from investment policies to monitoring frameworks. Its approach of developing climate scoring tools and adjusting investment processes to account for climate impact can serve as a model for other financial institutions.
  3. Leveraging international partnerships: The CDC has effectively leveraged partnerships with international institutions like the World Bank, French Development Agency etc. to mobilize funding for specific initiatives like the InnovaTech fund for innovative SMEs and programs supporting entrepreneurship.
  4. Establishing focused investment vehicles: Setting up targeted investment funds like Anava (fund of funds for startups) and InnovaTech (for innovative SMEs) has allowed the CDC to channel financing into priority areas in a structured manner.
  5. Supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem: Beyond just financing, the CDC's approach of funding entrepreneurship support programs, incubators, ecosystem players etc. illustrates a holistic strategy to nurture innovation and startups.
  6. Responsible and impact investing principles: The CDC has developed robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, management systems and tools to ensure its investments create positive impact in line with its public mandate.

CURATED BY

Tom Hancock

Research Associate
Global Entrepreneurship Network
United Kingdom