View the webinar on partner support

[chapeau]You can watch or re-watch this new edition of Les Témoins en Actes webinar on support, the cornerstone of the solidarity investor’s mission.[/chapeau]

The webinar featured Abdou-Rasmané OUEDRAOGO, Managing Director of Union des Baoré Tradition d’Epargne et de Crédit (UBTEC). UBTEC is a microfinance institution that operates mainly in rural areas of northern Burkina Faso, in the Sahelian zone, while maintaining a strong peasant base thanks to the fact that it was founded by Burkina Faso’s main peasant federation.

SIDI’s General Manager, in dialogue with SIDI’s partnership manager, came to talk about the relationship forged with SIDI to support farmers in the Ecological and Social Transition. Support from the ACTES Foundation has made it possible to finance and support the agro-ecological practices of UBTEC members.

 

Webinar: Partner support

[chapeau]To strengthen its support for its partners, SIDI has created the ACTES Foundation under the aegis of the Terre Solidaire Foundation. In this new webinar, Les Témoins en Actes focuses on support, the cornerstone of the solidarity investor’s mission.[/chapeau]

To find out more about the tailor-made support provided by the ACTES Foundation to SIDI’s partners, we invite you to a new ” Témoins en ACTES ” event on Thursday March 31 from 5 to 6.30pm.

This time we welcome Abdou-Rasmané OUEDRAOGO, Managing Director of Union des Baoré Tradition d’Epargne et de Crédit (UBTEC).

UBTEC is a microfinance institution that operates mainly in rural areas of northern Burkina Faso, in the Sahelian zone, while maintaining a strong peasant base thanks to the fact that it was founded by Burkina Faso’s main peasant federation.

The Managing Director of SIDI will give us his account, in dialogue with SIDI’s partnership manager, of the relationship forged with SIDI to support farmers in the Ecological and Social Transition. Support from the ACTES Foundation has made it possible to finance and support the agro-ecological practices of UBTEC members.

1h30 of discussions to better understand the links between SIDI’s investment and support activities, and the challenges it faces in consolidating its support mission with its partners.

→ Register for the webinar here

The first edition of Les Témoins en Actes webinar welcomed Assata DOUMBIA, producer and president of the ECAM cooperative in Côte d’Ivoire. You can read his testimonial and watch the webinar again:

Successful 5th African Microfinance Week in Kigali

[chapeau]The 5th edition of African Microfinance Week brought together nearly 600 inclusive finance professionals from 55 countries in Kigali, Rwanda. A tremendous success![/chapeau]

African Microfinance Week (AMW) is the largest conference on inclusive finance in Africa. Organized every two years in a different African country, it features conferences, training and workshops, an innovators’ village, and of course the investor fair in which the SIDI team plays an active part. A networking event dedicated exclusively to investors and African MFIs, the investor fair enables SIDI to forge future partnerships.

The SAM is an essential event for exchanging and sharing expertise on inclusive finance. The theme chosen for this year’s event was resilience: ” You’re not born resilient, you become resilient: strengthening inclusive finance to better overcome crises “. This was the first time the SAM had been held in Rwanda. This choice has enabled us to shine the spotlight on a country that has shown tremendous resilience and a phenomenal ability to adapt.

As always, the SIDI team was on hand. The emotion of being back in the flesh, and seeing the success of our participation, was palpable.

Why so many people? The impact of microfinance has always been the subject of debate. It’s a fact that microfinance is resilient, that it continues to provide concrete solutions and that, thanks to the leverage it generates, it enables individuals to define their own destiny.

At this 5th edition, everyone was able to gauge the vitality of African MFIs. In the face of the health crisis, MFIs ultimately managed to cope with the liquidity problems they faced. This shows the considerable work carried out by MFIs over the past 20 years, making them already resilient. The current crises – whether the health crisis linked to Covid19, the ensuing economic crisis, the issue of access to employment for young people, or the crucial challenge of adapting to climate change – must also be an opportunity to change practices, innovate, and advance the solutions that enable this adaptation. From the investor’s point of view, crises can have the beneficial effect of encouraging us to get closer and more involved together.

SIDI continues to forge ahead, placing solidarity at the heart of the economy and finance. Invest in small MFIs, establish long-term partnerships, share the partners’ vision and risk, so that these partnerships serve to consolidate the structures. Supporting the MAIN network in its capacity building program for its members – over 125 African MFIs! Defend the importance of technical assistance and support in response to the needs expressed by partners, to serve an inclusive economy in a process of ecological and social transition.

Some pictures of the event:

(c)GODONG // (c)SIDI

News from UCLS in Madagascar

A long-term partnership

The Union des Coopératives Lanzan’ny Sambirano (UCLS) is a Producers’ Organization (PO) for cocoa beans located in Madagascar around the Sambirano valley near Ambanja. It was created in 2010 by an association, ADAPS[i], whose aim was to structure agricultural value chains. The UCLS was therefore originally institutionalized by a local development association. SIDI’s partnership manager in Madagascar, with her knowledge of the country and its stakeholders (NGOs from the North, in particular AFDI, the French NGO for the Development of the Industrial Sector), was responsible for the project.[ii]), came into contact with UCLS at a time when SIDI was seeking to strengthen its commitment to agriculture. UCLS and Ethiquable[iii] also wanted to commit to a long-term business relationship.

Ups and downs, but a continuing partnership

SIDI’s first financing operation took place in 2011, with the aim of pre-financing UCLS member cooperatives to enable them to acquire certified organic cocoa beans for export (12.5 tonnes, equivalent to 1/2 “standard” container). Today, SIDI financing enables UCLS to export almost 250 tonnes of certified organic cocoa beans a year. This partnership has not been linear, as UCLS has suffered slowdowns in its activity and misappropriations, which led to the suspension of SIDI funding in 2016. However, SIDI, along with other players, continued to support the Union by providing assistance, in particular in strengthening the organization’s accounting function.

Results today

Beyond the quantitative results, with volumes rising from 12.5 tonnes of cocoa exported in 2011 to almost 250 tonnes today, UCLS has made progress in its organization, reach and member loyalty. It has grown from 6 cooperatives at the start of its activity to almost 20 today, with between 300 and 400 producers depending on the year, who supply it with increasing quantities of cocoa. The relationship is established and the trust present so that growers regularly supply their cooperatives (instead of selling to others).

Despite the difficulties mentioned above, the organization has adapted to the needs of its members. It has succeeded in structuring 20 small cooperatives and supported them in the process of certification by Union agricultural agents. Despite the state of the infrastructure, UCLS manages to send containers of cocoa on a regular basis to meet its annual contracts with Ethiquable and Valrhona.[iv]. Today, the UCLS is looking forward to the collection campaigns with a little more serenity. Its campaign financing resources are more diversified (self-financing, SIDI financing, buyer’s advance, supplier’s credit) and larger.

And challenges

Despite the situation linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, SIDI and UCLS intend to continue working together. SIDI’s long-term approach makes it possible to tackle certain challenges, such as strengthening the structure’s administration without overburdening its processes and costs, increasing income for producers, integrating the smallest producers into cooperatives, and encouraging young people to take up cocoa farming.

Jean-Marie CAVARROC,

SIDI Partnership Officer

[i] Association for the Development of Agriculture and Farming in Sambirano (ADAPS)
[II] Agriculteurs français et développement international (Afdi), an international solidarity association that builds partnerships between French farmers and those in developing countries.
[III] Ethiquable is a French cooperative specializing in the sale of organic fair trade products.
[IV] Valrhona is a French food company specializing in cocoa processing.