Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, September 30, 2019 – Mr. Patrice Kitebi, Chief Executive Officer of the Fonds de Promotion de l’Industrie (FPI) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, paid a courtesy visit to the Secretary-General of the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI), on September 23, 2019, at the Association’s headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

He was accompanied by four members of the FPI staff, namely Mr. Jean Claude Kalenga Makonga, Assistant of the CEO, Mr. Gustave Dikizeiko Gola, Director of Tax Mobilization, Mr. Olivier Babudaa Mokilo, Provincial Director, and Ms. Chantal Tawaba Mbomo, Branch Manager.

Mr. Kitebi was in the Capital of country to take part in the Leadership, Caching and Mentoring Program organized by AADFI from September 23 to 27, 2019, at its headquarters, for the benefit of senior and middle management of the African Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).

The FPI CEO’s visit aimed at exploring with Mr. Amihere how FPI could strengthen the capacity of its staff and deepen its grasp of the PSGRS (Prudential Standards, Guidelines and Rating System), the Association’s flagship financial instrument allowing institutions that applied it to self-assess so as to discover their strengths and weaknesses to take the appropriate corrective actions to increase their performance.

Mr. Kitebi said that the FPI was moving in the right direction after overcoming many challenges. He added that he had made many reforms that increased the credibility of the institution. However, he acknowledged that there was still a lot to be done, and hoped to be able to count on the AADFI in this regard, particularly in terms of the capacity-building of his staff which was 80% young and the application of the PSGRS to have satisfactory results to be among the Best Performing African DFIs.

The Secretary-General warmly welcomed Mr. Kitebi and his delegation, and stated that he was honoured to receive them at the headquarters of the Association. He acknowledged that the Fonds de Promotion de l’Industrie has made tremendous progress in the areas of good governance, finance, and operations in recent years, and commended Mr. Kitebi for the tremendous work he was doing to move FPI forward.

Mr. Amihere indicated that the AADFI has the mandate to help its members improve on their performances. He was delighted that Mr. Kitebi registered four staff members, including himself, to attend the leadership, coaching and mentoring program.

Regarding the PSGRS, the Secretary-General recalled that the FPI was one of the founders of the mechanism, and that training on the tool was held in 2018, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, with sponsorship from the FPI. He reassured Mr. Kitebi that the Association remained available to assist his institution in its ongoing quest to improve the capacity of its staff and its self-assessment results.

Finally, the Secretary-General invited the FPI CEO to take part in the AADFI’s upcoming 2019 CEO Forum of African DFIs which will be held in Durban, South Africa, before taking him and his delegation round the headquarters’ premises. Mr. Kitebi ended his visit by signing the Association’s Guest Book.