INTERVIEW
How does TA have an impact on companies? Testimonies from three beneficiary organizations I nterview with Ravi Shankar, Director, Africure Pharmaceuticals Michelle Espinach, Sustainable bank manager, Banco Promerica Patrick Joseph, Regional control and audit manager, Mission laïque française
Africure Pharmaceuticals, an Indian group operating in Sub-Saharan Africa, Banco Promerica, a Costa Rican bank operating in Latin America, and La Mission Laïque Française, whose network of schools covers some 40 countries… What do they have in common? They have all benefited from a technical assistance program provided by PROPARCO. In this interview, these players in health, banking and education analyze the benefits they have gained in terms of capacity building, promoting their services, improving processes and E&S good practices.
WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S ACTIVITIES? Ravi Shankar (Africure Pharmaceuticals): Africure Pharmaceuticals was established with the vision of providing quality and affordable healthcare to the people of Africa. We believe that local manufacturing is the future of pharmaceuticals in the region. Hence, our primary focus is on setting up manufacturing facilities in Africa, by upholding our motto ‘Made in Africa by Africans for Africa’. At Africure, we are committed to solving the pertinent issues for Africa, namely import dependency, affordability, unemployment, technology, and counterfeit drugs. Michelle Espinach (Banco Promerica): Banco Promerica was founded by 14 people in a small building in San Jose and by definition was an SME. Thirty years later, we are the fourth-largest private bank in the country.
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We believe in SMEs and the impact they have on our country’s economy. Our business portfolio in terms of client mix is 70% SMEs and 30% corporations. Patrick Joseph (Mission laïque française): The Mission Laïque Française (MLF) is a nonprofit and state-approved association founded in 1902. Its mission is to disseminate the French language and culture around the world through secular, multilingual and intercultural education. The association has a network of 110 schools in 36 countries with over 61,000 pupils enrolled, from kindergarten to the final year in high school. In Africa, MLF has schools in several countries, including Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia and Gabon.
