IMPACTSupporting social innovation projects
In order to combine economic performance with a positive contribution to society, BNP Paribas relies on its Positive Impact Business Accelerator (PIBA), whose team supports the players in inclusive finance. Here is a look at a few 2024 key initiatives.
Since the launch of impact bonds in France in 2016, BNP Paribas has used this leverage to support social and solidarity economy players. Impact bonds address various issues such as the integration of vulnerable groups, child protection, the autonomy of senior citizens, food waste, biodiversity and inclusive recruitment. The PIBA structuring team brings together investors and public authorities around these projects. If the expected impacts are achieved, the impact bond is pre-financed by the former, who are reimbursed by the latter. Impact measurement is the cornerstone of this system: it allows the project to be adapted in real time on the ground to ensure its effectiveness. In eight years, BNP Paribas has signed 28 impact bonds, 20 of which are still active.
STRUCTURING NEW IMPACT BONDS
In 2024, the Group has structured four new impact bonds for a total of €10.5 million. The first, Mozaïk RH, aims to improve the employability of scholarship students and/or students from priority urban areas. The second, Positiv, aims to combat exclusion in the Nord department of France by supporting recipients of the RSA (“Revenu de Solidarité Active”, an earned income supplement) towards entrepreneurship. The third, Réemprod, combats waste in the building industry by creating a channel for reusing materials. Finally, the fourth, Woork, supports the development of a mentoring programme for young people during their first work experience.
DEVELOPING INCLUSIVE FINANCING
In order to accelerate the just transition, the Group has provided, since December 2023, in partnership with the JuST Institute, Inclusive & Sustainability-Linked Financing (ISLF+) - inclusive and sustainable financing at reduced interest rates or preferential conditions linked to the achievement of environmental and social objectives. In 2024, BNP Paribas signed two ISLF+ contracts in France and Morocco. The first, signed by Commercial & Personal Banking in France (CPBF) with the socially conscious “farm-restaurant” Mûre, a beneficiary of our Act for Impact programme(1), finances over a 15-year period the transition to organic farming with the adoption of short transport circuits, the introduction of methods that generate lower greenhouse gas emissions and improved pay for employees. For its part, our commercial & personal banking entity in Morocco, BMCI, has financed the al Amana association, the leader in microloans on the Moroccan market, in the form of ISLF+. This financing will enable al Amana to develop its network of mobile branches, thereby bringing their services closer to the inhabitants of isolated rural areas.
PROMOTING MICROLOANS
Microfinance also made good progress in 2024. In South Africa, for example, RCS, the local subsidiary of BNP Paribas Personal Finance, provided a €1 million loan to the Small Enterprise Foundation NPC (SEF), the country’s largest non-profit microfinance institution. Dedicated to women, SEF contributes, mainly in rural areas, to the eradication of poverty by providing a range of financial services to support them in their various projects (see page 77).
BNP Paribas Indonesia distinguished itself by granting a €47 million credit line, the highest ever granted by BNP Paribas in terms of microfinance, to PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), one of the largest microfinance institutions in the world, which supports millions of women micro-entrepreneurs in the country.
INVESTING IN INCLUSION
As part of the deployment of its impact investment envelope(2), the Group invested in the start-up Meet My Mama, an impact catering business that enables women - the “Mamas” - to reveal their culinary talent, become chefs and create their own business. BNP Paribas’ support is multidimensional: in addition to this investment, Meet My Mama is also a client of CPBF’s Act for Impact programme and its Mamas benefit from a dedicated banking offer (see page 76).
TWO REPORTS TO REFLECT OUR COMMITMENT
In order to put into perspective all of our progress in financial and social inclusion, BNP Paribas published, for the first time in 2024, the Positive Impact Business Accelerator’s activity and social performance report, as well as its third microfinance social performance report.
Consult these reports on the CSR Publications page of our website group.bnpparibas/en