La banque d'un monde qui change 2004 - BNP Paribas

124sustainable development125This partnership is a strengthening of the linkswith Adie that the Group began forging in 1993.Since its inception, this association has granted25,000 loans to unemployed persons. Resultshave been positive as 94% of loans grantedare paid back and 64% of the companies createdwith the help of an Adie loan are still in businessafter two years. This is a higher success ratethan the average of new companies set upwith conventional loans. In addition, the Groupsubsidiary Cetelem created its own partnershipwith Adie in 2004, the aim of which is to transferexperience and know-how and to developa decision-making tool.Group entities have also entered into partnershipswith microcredit institutions outside France,particularly in West Africa, where the associatedbanks took up shares in BRS, the regional solidaritybank created under the auspices of the centralbank of West African States, to providea framework for micro loans in the region.BICI in Guinea has for several years playeda key role in this field by developing, with thehelp of the French Development Agency (FDA),a partnership with Crédit Rural, a local playerin the field of micro loans. As part of thispartnership, the BNP Paribas subsidiary offereda refinancing credit line to the micro-lendinginstitution and provided access to directfinancing for former microcredit borrowersonce they qualified for standard credit.In Morocco, micro loans are developing rapidly,spurred by government support. BMCI is directlyinvolved in this movement, as it providesmedium- and long-term credit linesto Al-Amana, one of the two largestlocal microcredit institutions.Several projects for strengthening thesepartnerships outside France will be finalisedin 2005, against the backdrop of the UnitedNations initiative of designating 2005as the International Year of Microcredit.Social insertion through sportA majority of the initiatives the Group haslaunched over the years through its partnershipsfor solidarity have been geared towards youngpeople, their education and their integration intosociety. Sports sponsorship has therefore been forseveral years one of the avenues through whichBNP Paribas seeks to promote social insertion.The Group has been a partner of tennis at alllevels for the past 32 years and has naturallychosen this relationship, which is the longestin the history of sports sponsorship,as the springboard for broader initiatives.It supports Fête le mur, an association createdand led by former tennis star (and currentpop star) Yannick Noah. This association aimsto promote social cohesion and integration intosociety in difficult neighbourhoods through sport.It gives young people from poor housing estatesan opportunity to play tennis in high-qualityfacilities, where they can benefit from top-notchcoaching, allowing the most motivated amongthem to join national leagues. In 2004,BNP Paribas created a BNP Paribas scholarshipfor children selected during a national tournamentthat allows them to continue their studiesin middle school while they pursuethe development of their talent for tennis.BNP Paribas also expanded this form of patronage in2004 by becoming a founder member of Fondationdu sport, which funds and partners initiatives tofight social exclusion through sport. The first projectsselected included the creation of boxing schoolsin underprivileged neighbourhoods of the Paris area,a plan for the social integration of immigrant womenthrough sport in Dreux (Central France),and a project that puts non-disabled schoolchildren