On Tuesday 29 November 2022, SOTUGAR organized a session at the headquarters of the Tunisian Professional Association of Banks  and Financial Institutions(ATPBEF) attended by twenty-five participants representing the ten banks having  signed the Dhamen Express mechanism agreement.

Mr Ahmed TRAICHI, Central Technical Director at SOTUGAR, opened the session by welcoming the guests and recalling the objectives of the new mechanism as well as the terms and conditions for admission to the guarantee.

His presentation which focused on two aspects, the follow-op on guarantee files and  the activation of the guarantee, was supported  by examples with figures and concluded  with the status  of adherence to the mechanism as at 30 October 2022.

During the second part of the session, dedicated to assessing the progress of the Dhamen Express mechanism, Mr. Mohamed Lotfi BOURAGBA, IT Director at SOUGAR, gave a demonstration of the “SGPG” information system for managing guarantee files

While congratulating the partner banks having started registering  guarantee applications via the Dhamen Express platform, the two SOTUGAR speakers emphasized the need for other partners to start production if this product is to succeed. They also pointed out that banks are required to declare their forecasts of lending to   SME for 2023.

Mr. Traichi took the opportunity to point out that these forecasts are useful for allocating and assessing the commitment capacity required, relative to the one available, in order to better meet partners’ guarantee requirements.  He also recalled that the SOTUGAR teams (business and IT) remain available for further clarification, support or assistance to partners when needed.

The session for assessing the progress of the Dhamen Express mechanism enabled a great deal of exchange in the form of questions and practical feedback on the part of partner bank representatives.

At the closing of the meeting, all participants were unanimous in considering that the  session was fruitful.