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UM-PAMECAS is a key player in Senegal’s microfinance sector, ranking among the country’s top 5 institutions in terms of outstanding loans and deposits. PAMECAS began operations in the 1990s, initially in urban areas with no formal financial institutions. The institution has gradually extended its activities to rural areas where financial inclusion remains low. Today, this MFI is made up of some thirty Mutuelles d’Epargne et de Crédit operating throughout Senegal, grouped together under an umbrella organization – UM-PAMECAS.
Senegal is a low-income country facing numerous development challenges. It ranks 168th out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI), with an HDI of 0.512. Microfinance institutions play an essential role in financing the informal economy and strengthening financial inclusion/increasing the penetration of the microfinance sector – which stood at just 21.2% at the end of 2021.
UM-PAMECAS, with its mutualist structure, is a model that is firmly rooted in the community – financed in part by the community and, above all, at its service. The institution targets different segments of the population, in particular women and the poor in peri-urban and rural areas.
