The M23 takeover of Goma: a direct impact on the population and the activities of SIDI’s partners in Kivu

Hekima RDC

For several weeks now, the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been experiencing another major crisis. The capture of the town of Goma by the M23 armed group, supported by Rwandan soldiers, has left the population into a dramatic situation: at least 2,900 people were killed on February 07, 2025, according to the United Nations. Large-scale displacements, economic losses and widespread insecurity punctuated the daily lives of thousands of families.

A region marked by chronic instability

Bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, Kivu has been mired for more than twenty years in an almost permanent conflict situation, which maintains a chronic instability hampering the socio-economic development of the territory and its inhabitants. This particularly complex situation in Kivu has made it a priority region for SIDI, which has seven local partners covering all its fields of intervention: financial inclusion (microfinance institutions such as Paidek, Guilgal, Hekima, credit cooperative unions such as COOCEC, promoters of solidarity mutuals), agricultural value chains (organic coffee and fair trade cooperatives Muungano and CPNCK) and the fight against climate change (through an innovative partnership with Altech, a renewable energy supplier).

SIDI partners directly impacted

The capture of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, has had a direct impact on our local partners, in particular Hekima, a microfinance institution (MFI) which SIDI has been supporting for several years and which has its headquarters in Goma. This MFI plays an essential role: it grants group loans to women entrepreneurs. Hekima reaches nearly 15,000 beneficiaries, 74% of whom are women, who, thanks to appropriate financing, are able to develop their activities and strengthen their economic resilience. Today, however, operations have ground to a halt, and the teams have to adapt to protect themselves and their beneficiaries, while maintaining a minimum level of activity. As for SIDI’s partner coffee cooperatives, the situation is equally dramatic as the season got underway at the end of January. Muungano, the coffee cooperative based in Kiniezire, was unable to start collecting coffee cherries from its 4,245 member producers because of the fighting. For its part, the CPNCK cooperative, based on the island of Idjwi on Lake Kivu, no longer has access to the financial resources blocked in Goma, but which are nonetheless necessary to pay its 2,300 producers.

SIDI, working alongside its partners

Above and beyond the impact on our mission as a socially responsible investor, it is above all the daily lives of local populations that are affected. In times of crisis, humanitarian and economic needs are immense. At SIDI, we remain mobilized to support our partners in Kivu as much as possible, in the hope of a rapid return to stability. We also salute the courage of the local teams and populations who continue, despite everything, to commit themselves to maintaining economic activity in Kivu.

 

photo credit: Philippe Lissac – Godong agency / SIDI

Welcome to Emmanuel Gagnerot, SIDI’s new Director of Operations and Partnerships

Could you introduce yourself and share with us what led you to join SIDI?

My career path has been marked by a different kind of economy. I chose to work in the Social and Solidarity Economy sector, which enabled me to reconnect – without really knowing it at the time (!) – with a family entrepreneurial commitment marked by the Resistance. After a few years in the fight against racism and for equal opportunities between men and women, notably at European level, I plunged into the technical – and financial – side of supporting cooperatives, social integration enterprises, foundations, associations… associations… with France Active. France Active[1], in the field. I then joined Crédit Coopératif, where I managed the Social and Solidarity Economy department. I believe in combining action, technical expertise and ethics to take concrete action in favor of a different kind of economy… At the service of people, not the other way round. Meeting SIDI was an obvious choice for me: the teams, the volunteers and the governance all share the same commitment, with one burning conviction: that a different kind of economy is synonymous with peace and international development.

What major challenges do you see for SIDI in the regions where it operates?

Three key examples illustrate this diversity: the worsening of certain armed conflicts over the past two years threatens to wipe out the activities of some of our partners, such as ACAD, a long-standing microfinance player in Palestine, and Fair Trade Tourism Limited in Lebanon. Secondly, the effects of the climate crisis are having repercussions on certain agricultural sectors, with prices (cocoa, coffee) soaring to record levels, putting the economic models of the African and South American producer organizations we support under strain. Finally, monetary uncertainty is weighing on many of our partners, such as the Sahel states (Mali, Niger, Burkina), which wish to leave the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) in favor of a scenario yet to be written[2]. Or, on another continent, Bolivia, whose financial chaos and scarcity of dollars is weighing heavily on the cost of our financial interventions. In 2024, the “operational” team organized itself to meet the complexity of these challenges: a presence on the ground with teams based in Lomé (Togo), Bujumbura (Burundi), Kampala (Uganda) and Antananarivo (Madagascar); a reorganization of the geographical team into three poles(Latin America, West and North Africa, East and Southern Africa) to ensure the closest possible follow-up of our partners; this with the support of two transversal poles (Accompaniment, Social and Environmental Performance). I note with admiration that the expertise and commitment of the eighteen professionals on the operational team remain at the highest level. And the long-term professionalism of the entire SIDI team, as well as the commitment of our volunteer consultants and shareholders, give us every confidence, despite the size of the challenges ahead.

What are your priorities as Director of Operations and Partnerships?

My priority is to stabilize this new organization and, together with the entire SIDI team, make it as effective as possible. The second key objective is to strike the right balance between the development and consolidation of our portfolio, which now comprises 130 partners with 50 million in outstandings in some 30 countries. It is this balance that enables SIDI to be fully useful. Another obvious objective, given the nature of our business, is to ensure the safety of our teams during missions in risky territories.

In your opinion, what role do citizens play in the success of SIDI’s solidarity investments?

Thanks to its unique business model supported by citizen shareholders, SIDI enjoys a rare freedom to act in favour of economic development in areas where few state or civil society players are involved (Mozambique, Haiti, Bolivia, Guinea…). Let’s be clear: it’s not a question of intervening where no one else is doing so as to stand out. It’s a question of using financial tools to activate the levers of economic development, opening up prospects for financial autonomy and democratization of the economy. Without citizen shareholders, whom we call on to be ambassadors for their invaluable support to SIDI, we would not be able to intervene in the areas where we do. Today, it is very important to widen this circle to include the next generation of this “cosmopolitanism in action”: it is their children and grandchildren who will have the responsibility of supporting a world that is ever more open and ever more united.

You’ve already been on two missions to Guinea Conakry and Uganda. What impressed you most on these occasions?

First and foremost: the energy of SIDI’s partners in the field! It’s remarkable… Seeing the very tangible effects of SIDI’s financing and support for poor borrowers and small farmers has also strengthened my conviction that I am working for a mission of the future that is more decisive than ever. [ 1] Solidarity finance operator specializing in economic development. [ 2] SIDI is currently coordinating a study to be published in thefirst half of 2025 on the impact of this exit, in order to anticipate as far as possible its consequences for the partners supported in this region.

SIDI trip to Tunisia: participants tell their stories

Visite SIDI Beni Ghreb

In Tunisia, we took part in a meeting of SIDI shareholders who had come to observe how their money is being used to help people, and to put SIDI’s generous ideas of ” supporting the poorest” in the context of complex day-to-day realities.

In this way, SIDI has brought together a very wide range of “partners”.

1- First and foremost, Enda Interarabe, a structure that was supported and accompanied in the past, no longer really needs SIDI today, but continues to share its practices with us, for example when it promotes training to refine the personal project of each of its managers, or when it compensates for the inadequacy of school structures in Tunisia, thus playing a part in the common good of this country by disseminating good practices.

It’s good to meet the Enda Interarabe team, and in particular its founder Essma Ben Hamida, a radiant person who maintains the philosophy of service to beneficiaries and demonstrates that money for life is real.

2- Final beneficiaries, supported by Enda TamweelSIDI’s partner microfinance institution, work in all sectors of economic life. With very short-term loans, they set up their own business.

After Covid, one woman was able to transform her business, keep her premises and become a distributor of aloe vera-based wellness products: “Enda Tamweel really followed me and facilitated credit as and when I needed it”. She’s more than satisfied, she’s grateful.
We’ve met so many other ewe breeders, weavers, jewelry and dress designers, and the manager of a computer store, who’s on her third loan. She has created a job, pays her own way and takes care of her parents. She was very proud to show us the new machine that facilitates her computer activity, even though she was trained “on the job”…
These beneficiaries, different in age, needs and activity, were able to set up and develop with very little capital, thanks to their courage and ideas. The exemplary nature of SIDI’s action is very appealing.

3- In the south of Tunisia, we discovered larger companies. These agricultural companies, which market and export dates, take risks in the service of desert farmers.

With the Beni Ghreb partner, the entrepreneur’s welcome offers a nice surprise: “Thanks to you, we’re still here!” In other words, the family-run business is still going strong, enabling men and women to make a living from their work.

One hundred and twenty-three farmers and their families live in the harsh desert environment as the drought continues to take its toll…

In this oasis agriculture, attentive support is needed to solve every new problem, whether it’s drought, with its crucial corollary of water supply, Covid, insect pests, or switching to organic farming, which is more expensive than chemicals. At every stage, SIDI never let go of the company, playing the solidarity card to such an extent that the debt was transformed into a shareholding in the company’s capital. High-quality Deglet Nour dates are produced and exported.

The partnership with the farmers has enabled us to transform the irrigation model and add shrub crops, some market gardening and livestock farming to the palm trees, thereby increasing their income from dates.

Employment is maintained for the men who climb the trees several times a year (hand pollination, cleaning, pest protection and harvesting) and for the women who sort, classify, process and package the dates…

Then, with our partner South Organic, another organic date marketing company, we discovered an even more technical operation, with the presence of young women engineers, who enable scientific water management and the absence of chemical fertilizers in this pilot orchard, where all the region’s producers can come and learn these techniques. Here again, many people are employed in agricultural production and then in processing for shipment, often working for the company for several years and taking pride in their work.

In conclusion, Sidi is at the service of people, the economy and the earth. Here, the future is preserved, with those who stand up for themselves by raising sheep, sewing dresses, developing IT or growing dates. We keep hope alive…
And if the word shareholder is a dirty word, let’s be proud to be a shareholder of SIDI, which puts money at the service of people.

If the Gospel makes sense to you, we’ve found that SIDI brings the Parable of the Talents to life. Money lent, repaid and lent again…

Raymonde Richard and Françoise Michaud

Members of the Board ofESD, Epargne Solidarité Développement (SIDI’s association of individual shareholders)

Vahatra, a new impetus for financial inclusion in Madagascar

For the past five years, SIDI has been supporting the microfinance institution (MFI) Vahatra – Racines in Malagasy – in its institutional transformation. This year marks a decisive step: its transition from a microcredit NGO to a limited company (SA) regulated by the Madagascar Banking Commission. This change, the fruit of several years’ preparation, will enable Vahatra to consolidate its model and strengthen its capacity to better serve its 20,000 customers. These beneficiaries, mostly from rural areas between Tananarive, Antsirabé and Ampefy, often live below the extreme poverty line, in a country where 80% of the population subsists on less than US$1.90 a day, and where vulnerability to climate change is one of the highest in the world. To mark this transition, Joan Penche, SIDI‘s Head of East and Southern Africa, and Gabrielle Orliange, in charge of partnerships for Madagascar, went on a mission to the country. They exchanged views with Vahatra’s teams, visited its rural branches and met a dozen customers to better understand their reality and the services provided by the institution.

Institutionalization: a lever for social and financial impact

Vahatra’s institutionalization represents much more than an administrative change. The process involved a complete transformation: updating information systems, overhauling processes, preparing an application for approval by the banking commission, and setting up a new governance structure. SIDI supported this development by providing technical support for the legal process of obtaining approval and migrating to a new information system, as well as strategic support, in particular through the active participation of the partnership officer on the steering committee for this transition. In order to perpetuate this partnership, SIDI became a shareholder in the newly-created company, with a 23% stake (EUR 130,000), and obtained two directorships. It also continues to support Vahatra through a guarantee enabling the institution to take out a loan with a local bank. This dual commitment highlights the strategic importance of this institution for rural development in Madagascar.

A holistic vision to serve vulnerable populations

If SIDI is putting so many resources into the transformation of Vahatra, it’s because the partnership with this small MFI has a special meaning. Vahatra stands out for its integrated approach, combining financial services with tailor-made technical and social support for its clients, whom it calls its partners. With extensive experience in agricultural financing, it has developed a lending methodology tailored to the needs of the producers and breeders it finances. In addition to financial services, Vahatra offers technical services and training: for example, Vahatra systematically provides technical assistance to pig farmers receiving financial support (who account for 35% of the MFI’s portfolio) on measures to limit the risk of swine fever. Vahatra has also set up a compulsory mutual health insurance scheme for all its partner clients. This service was developed following the twofold observation that, in the event of an accident, the medical costs involved were often too high for the households targeted by Vahatra: this led them to have to choose between seeking treatment or repaying their loan. The mutual insurer covers the whole household for the duration of the loan. Finally, in line with its developmental vision, Vahatra also offers additional social and environmental services, including awareness-raising sessions on child and maternal health; coaching on obtaining identity papers; and the supply of seedlings from nurseries managed by the MFI. These actions strengthen community resilience while promoting sustainable practices.

Innovative tools to measure impact and limit risk

Social innovation is at the heart of Vahatra’s approach. The institution also distinguishes itself by the analytical tools it uses to evaluate and monitor its beneficiary clients. At a time when the microfinance sector is devoting increasing attention to outcome measurement, Vahatra is already ahead of the game. For several years now, it has been using the “family photo”, an analysis grid that measures the multidimensional poverty of its beneficiaries through criteria such as housing, nutrition or access to water. This tool also assesses the evolution of customers’ living conditions over several loan cycles. At the same time, the MFI has developed specific analysis grids for each of the agricultural sectors it finances (pork, rice, potatoes). These tools enable loan officers to identify the risks specific to each farm and propose appropriate solutions. For pig farmers, for example, the grid assesses factors such as feed quality, shelter and access to veterinary care.

A model for the future

Faced with regulatory and operational challenges, the institutionalization of Vahatra marks a strategic turning point. By separating its microfinance activities from its social and healthcare activities, the new limited company has gained in efficiency, while retaining its strong social mission, now carried out by the NGO. The partnership between SIDI and Vahatra bears witness to the impact that solidarity finance can have on vulnerable communities. By combining technical expertise and human commitment, this project demonstrates that it is possible to reconcile economic viability with lasting social impact. Thanks to this transformation, Vahatra is better equipped to respond to the complex challenges of poverty and climate change, helping to build a brighter future for Madagascar’s rural populations.

SIDI trip to Tunisia, local solutions to global challenges

At the beginning of November, a group of SIDI savers and solidarity shareholders travelled to Tunisia to discover how their investments come to life in the field. The trip enabled them to meet SIDI’s local partners and discover the projects supported, thus embodying the chain of financial solidarity that unites savers here and micro-entrepreneurs or small producers there.

Tunisia is facing multiple crises: democratic transition at a standstill, deteriorating public services, galloping inflation, very high unemployment, particularly among young people, large-scale emigration to Europe and Canada, illegal immigration from sub-Saharan Africa, etc. These political, economic and social challenges are compounded by environmental issues, in particular the water crisis exacerbated by recurrent droughts. Added to these political, economic and social challenges is the environmental issue, and in particular the water crisis exacerbated by recurrent droughts. In this context, SIDI’s partners, whether in sustainable agricultural sectors such as Beni Ghreb and South Organic, or in the microfinance sector such as Enda Tamweel, play a crucial role in supporting vulnerable communities in their economic development and improving their living conditions.

Enda Tamweel: microfinance for emancipation

Enda Tamweel has become the country’s leading Microfinance Institution (MFI): 472,000 customers for a country of 11 million inhabitants. SIDI has been a partner since its creation in 2015, when it acquired a stake in the MFI. Enda Tamweel offers small loans designed to support micro-entrepreneurs and small farmers in their economic activities. It primarily targets the informal sector (59% of its customers live below the poverty line), women and young people, and the rural sector with strategic support for agriculture. Today, the MFI is the leading financier of small-scale agriculture in Tunisia.

During our visits, we were able to talk to beneficiaries whose inspiring stories illustrate the impact of this organization. In a working-class district of Tunis, we met Amina, a shopkeeper and Enda customer for many years. Amina is on her 12th loan cycle with Enda, which has enabled her to expand her business, build up sufficient stock, send her children to school and secure her future. In another district, a sewing workshop supported by Enda for over 20 years now employs seven women, demonstrating that microfinance can be a lever for long-term sustainable development. In Kairouan, in the center of the country, another beneficiary impressed us with his small dairy cow farm. This project, which began with the purchase of a single cow thanks to a microcredit, has gradually grown to include seven cows and a fully-equipped barn. With the ongoing support of his specialist advisor, he now meets the strict standards of the local dairy, which collects his milk.

From the farmer who started out with one cow to the craftswoman who makes evening dresses and now employs seven seamstresses, these initiatives bear witness to the lasting impact of microfinance. This support goes far beyond the financial. Enda offers all its customers free training and local support, guaranteeing a strong relationship of trust between loan officer and beneficiary, as well as the sustainability of projects and genuine social inclusion. These initiatives transform not only individual lives, but entire communities.

South Organic and Beni Ghreb: innovation in the face of the water crisis

In southern Tunisia, water management is a daily challenge for farmers, especially date growers. We headed for the Hazoua oasis, on the Algerian border, where a family of producers has set up and runs a small business marketing and exporting Beni Ghreb dates. The company is backed by the Groupement pour le Développement de l’Agriculture en Biodynamie, which groups together around a hundred producers from the oasis. The dates produced are of the excellent Deglet Nour variety. Attending the date harvest on one of the producers’ plots is a magical moment. We were able to see the sprinkler irrigation system in place, which saves 70% of water consumption, and allows other crops to grow between the date palms, notably fruit bushes. We then visited the packaging unit, which employs around a hundred young women from the village. Beni Ghreb is struggling to maintain its autonomy in a very fragile economic context. The emotion was palpable when the founder recalled that, thanks to the financial support of SIDI, and therefore of its shareholders, the community had overcome major crises such as drought, insect infestations, and above all the Covid crisis which had halted exports. “This project is life for Hazoua,” he insisted.

South Organic, another of SIDI’s partner date-packing and export SMEs, located in Kebili, some 100 km to the east, is also tackling the water issue with innovative solutions. South Organic works with 200 certified organic producers and employs just over 500 people, most of them women. Accompanied by the director and quality control manager, we visited their Al Wahaat pilot orchard, where the hydraulic engineer in charge of the project explained the irrigation system in place. This system drastically reduces water wastage by targeting the exact needs of crops, storing water, and alternating irrigation techniques according to the time of year. With this optimal water management, the crop stages under the date palms (legumes, arboriculture etc.) are re-established and can provide growers with additional income while promoting local biodiversity. The pilot orchard is open to all farmers in the region; they are invited to visit the plot and adopt these new techniques, thus amplifying its impact on a local scale.

A universal message

Each stage of this journey illustrated the strength of concrete and effective international solidarity. The projects encountered, whether in microfinance or sustainable agriculture, embodied the values that SIDI stands for: perseverance, solidarity and respect for people. For the participants, the trip not only enabled them to see the impact of their investments, but also to nurture their commitment to fairer, more sustainable development.

The MFI ALIDé, SIDI’s new partner in Benin.

SIDI’s development in West Africa

SIDI’s deployment in Benin is part of its development strategy.
The opening of SIDI’s regional office in Lomé, Togo, in 2023 will strengthen our proximity to our partners in West Africa and facilitate the creation of new partnerships.
This geographical proximity allows for greater flexibility in carrying out missions, including prospecting.
It was during one of these missions to Benin that SIDI forged ties with ALIDé, leading to this new partnership.

ALIDé, a partner aligned with SIDI in a difficult Beninese context

Thanks to its 17 points of service, including 10 branches and 85 agents, the ALIDé microfinance institution is working to improve the living conditions of vulnerable and low-income populations throughout Benin.
Founded in 2006, ALIDé currently serves some 50,000 customers, offering essential financial services.
This enables them to realize both personal and professional projects.
In 2022, ALIDé strengthened its social commitments around strong values as part of the revision of its social strategy.
The main commitment concerns women, with the aim of providing them with greater support to promote their social and economic inclusion.
Clear, measurable indicators have been defined for this purpose.
The Association supports projects in various sectors, including agriculture, through non-financial services and dedicated financial products.
This is an ambition that SIDI supports, in a general context of worsening risks in the agricultural sector and an economic situation impacted by strong political decisions at local level since 2023.
Indeed, developments in the political and economic situation in Benin are marked by a timid resumption of trade transactions with Niger (80% of transit through the port of Cotonou comes from Niger) despite the decision taken by ECOWAS member countries, including Benin, to resume trade with Niger and the reopening of borders with this country.
In addition, in 2023, government intervention in the setting of prices in certain sectors such as soya has had a slight impact on the smooth running of the campaign for some ALIDé producers. Thus, ALIDé’s work is essential both as a financier and, above all, as an advisor to guarantee the continuity of its members’ activities in a constantly changing environment.

Partnership objectives

The partnership between SIDI and ALIDé will have a dual dimension in line with SIDI’s strategy: financial contribution and technical support.
Several areas of intervention and areas of support have been identified to support the development of activities and the finalization of its digitization process initiated in 2018.
These areas will be defined and prioritized by mutual agreement between the association and SIDI.
This partnership will enable ALIDé to increase its medium-term financing capacity.
At the same time, it marks the return of SIDI’s activities in Benin, where it no longer had an active partnership at the end of 2023.
SIDI, always committed to long-term partnerships, intends to continue its deployment in this country, supporting players such as ALIDé who are committed to fulfilling their social mission.

Testimonial at the SIDI General Meeting: resilience and social impact of Financiera FDL

présentation Julio Flores AG SIDI

This year’s General Meeting was an opportunity for SIDI to invite one of its partners to testify. Julio Flores, Managing Director of Financiera FDL, came to present the activities of this microfinance institution (MFI) which operates in Nicaragua, the 2nd poorest country in Central America.

The fruitful exchanges between Julio Flores and SIDI shareholders continued the following morning with a question and answer session. This time allowed us to go into more detail about FFDL’s business and its formidable resilience in the face of crises.

The NGO Fondo de Desarrollo Local (FDL) was created in 1993 by the Jesuits, following the civil war. FDL’s aim is to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable Nicaraguans by providing them with loans, training and support services to help them develop their businesses, at a time when banks are not interested in this group. Financiera FDL has become the first MFI in the country and one of the largest in Central America. The institution mainly targets low-income people, farmers, breeders and micro-entrepreneurs in peri-urban areas. Thanks to its 38 branches, La Financiera has a strong territorial coverage, enabling it to provide 70% of its loans in rural areas, to populations with little access to credit.

 

Financiera FDL and its resilience to crises.

FDL’s growth was first slowed by the crisis between 2008 and 2011. In addition to the global economic crisis, an anti-MFI “Movimiento del no pago” (non-payment movement) has developed. It has led to a decline in the number of customers and payment defaults in the microfinance sector. FDL, despite a decline in portfolio and customers of around 50%, managed to restructure, before creating, alongside the NGO, the financial company Financiera FDL (FFDL) in 2016. To structure this financial company, FDL has chosen “international partners who share its vision”. As a result, SIDI became a minority shareholder.

A second crisis affected the country from 2018 to 2021. Politico-social conflict (murderous repression by the authoritarian regime) and economic instability led to a three-year contraction in GDP. Mass migration (10% of the population fled the country) was caused by persecution of civil society, including the Church. The number of FFDL customers has plummeted. This recession and drop in activity were exacerbated by the Covid crisis. Several MFIs have gone bankrupt, while FFDL’s portfolio has once again shrunk by 50% (more than $6 million in losses in 2018 and 2019)

FFDL overcame a number of challenges in order to emerge from the crisis: renewing its customer base, consolidating its portfolio and building up reserves. To support it, SIDI participated in the recapitalization of FFDL and made a 5-year subordinated loan (total outstanding amount of over €1.7 million in 2023). This second acquisition brings SIDI’s stake in FFDL to 4.4%. Backed by the support of its international shareholders, FFDL was able to negotiate with lenders to maintain its credit lines.

FFDL has achieved a spectacular turnaround. The portfolio has been growing since the end of the crisis, with a forecast +12% in 2024, which will enable us to recover the $6 million in losses recorded in recent years. All this has been made possible by the serious management and expertise of the company’s management team.

 

FFDL, an MFI with a strong social and environmental impact.

Nicaragua is one of the countries most exposed to climate change. The economy is partly based on cattle farming (54% of agricultural land), and the deforestation rate is the second highest in Central America. These activities are highly polluting and destructive, while severe droughts reduce agricultural yields by 20 to 40%.

Over the years, the MFI has developed a comprehensive range of support services for producers and breeders in the transition to agro-ecology. Support for producers in agro-ecological practices focuses on themes such as water management or arboriculture combined with animal husbandry. This technical assistance is paid for in part or in full by FFDL, depending on the customer’s standard of living.

To improve producers’ incomes and reduce poverty, FFDL supports product processing, such as packaging coffee for export. This on-site processing of raw materials by producers creates added value, reduces the number of intermediaries and enables them to sell their produce at a higher price, guaranteeing local producers a better income.

FFDL seeks to maximize its impact, and the results are there. According to an independent survey partly financed by SIDI, in 2023, more than 60% of FFDL’s customers will report an improvement in their standard of living. The structure adapts its loan amounts and terms according to customers’ needs. It grants loans from 14 months on average (for traders and businesses) to 36 months for agricultural activities. This earned FFDL a Microfinance Index award in 2023. (see related article).

FFDL has demonstrated impressive resilience, while maintaining a strong social and environmental dimension, with a focus on financial inclusion in rural areas and environmental protection.

For Julio Flores, “although SIDI is a minority shareholder, it is very much involved in FFDL’s key moments. SIDI’s active participation in FFDL’s governance through the involvement of a volunteer consultant (on its Board of Directors) is decisive”.

SIDI signs a new partnership in Colombia with Soluna Energia

Soluna_Img 4592

SIDI has concluded a strategic investment in Soluna Energia to contribute to the access of Colombian rural communities to clean and regular energy thanks to solar power.

More than half of Colombia’s particularly rugged territory (55%), and around 40% of the population, are not connected to the national electricity grid. Soluna is a Colombian company specializing in the installation, operation and maintenance of solar home systems. Founded in 2020, its mission is to facilitate access to electricity for rural communities unconnected or with limited access to the national grid, thanks to tailored photovoltaic solutions and a flexible payment model for consumers.

Strategic investment

For SIDI, this is a first step in the development of its climate portfolio in Latin America, directly in line with its new 2023-2026 strategic plan. In addition, this is the company’s3rd investment in Colombia, representing an interesting diversification of its portfolio in the country. SIDI currently finances and supports a coffee producers’ organization(Cencoic) and a microfinance institution (Confiamos).

Social and environmental impact

Since its inception, Soluna has installed solar home systems for over 300 households in 19 communities in Vichada in the east of the country, including two indigenous communities, enabling a total of 1,600 people to benefit from electricity in rural areas. 43% of beneficiaries are women, 40% are low-income families, and 30% are considered poor. The social objectives shared with Soluna are clear, particularly in favour of disadvantaged rural communities excluded from basic services. Soluna targets mainly, but not exclusively, small-scale farmers and indigenous people in rural areas. Customers who don’t have the capital to buy with cash are offered the chance to pay bit by bit, thanks to the innovative “Pay as you go” prepayment system.

According to surveys carried out among users, 30% are making productive use of the solar energy supplied by Soluna, 2/3 of whom say they have seen an increase in their income. Impressive results, with 90% of beneficiaries reporting an improvement in their quality of life. From an environmental point of view, the solar energy produced in this way mainly replaces kerosene lamps and expensive, polluting diesel generators: 55% of customers say they no longer need kerosene solutions.

SIDI’s partnership officer recently visited the small village of Casuarito on the Venezuelan border and saw for herself, with Yurika, a young woman of Venezuelan origin who runs a small business there, how Soluna’s energy is helping to improve her living conditions and those of the 3 people with whom she lives. Casuarito is connected to the local grid, but this provides a very irregular service, with power cuts during the day, and especially at night, for eight hours at a time. With temperatures in the area remaining high at night, fans are a precious commodity. Early in the morning, thanks to Soluna’s energy, she can use her small appliances to prepare breakfast and recharge her cell phone before leaving for work. The cost of this energy is more than affordable, she says, and in her case it’s shared with her family. The system, supplied with four bulbs and two double sockets, works very well, and Soluna’s technicians make follow-up visits two or three times a year. Yurika much prefers solar power, and will be installing more panels on the roof of her small business when she needs them.

Investment and development plan

SIDI is therefore taking a stake in Soluna, alongside other social investors, as part of a fund-raising operation that will enable Soluna to move from a start-up phase to an ambitious development phase. With a 10-year development plan, Soluna plans to install 60,000 solar home systems. In addition to its financial investment, SIDI brings to the project its experience in working with rural and farming communities, and in particular in supporting their strengthening.

This partnership between SIDI and Soluna is a new step in promoting access to renewable energy in rural areas of Colombia. The combination of Soluna’s ambitious social and environmental approach and SIDI’s long-term vision, embodied in the acquisition of an equity stake in the company, demonstrates the transformative potential of solar energy to improve the living conditions of vulnerable populations while helping to combat climate change.

Nutri’zaza: ten years of fighting malnutrition in Madagascar

Nutri’zaza was born of the determination of five committed players who share a common social and economic vision: a social enterprise can commit to the fight against malnutrition. Nutri’zaza‘s strengths lie in the diversity of its founding shareholders, the social mission enshrined in its articles of association, and its capacity for innovation.

In 2013, to mark the launch of Nutri’zaza, a social enterprise based on the Nutrimad development program initiated by GRET, a white paper was published detailing how the company wished to combat malnutrition. At the time, the facts were clear: over 50% of children under the age of five, or 1,300,000 children, were suffering from stunted growth (also known as chronic malnutrition). Ten years on, despite a relative improvement in percentage terms, the number of children in this situation in Madagascar has increased: 42% of children under the age of five, i.e. over 2 million youngsters, still suffer from chronic malnutrition. Madagascar is still one of the world’s poorest countries, with over 80% of the population living on less than two dollars a day.

Fighting malnutrition: 10 years of innovation

To combat child malnutrition on a long-term basis, the company sells fortified products for malnourished children and families: ready-prepared porridge, delivered by outreach workers to underprivileged neighborhoods in Madagascar’s major cities; sachets of porridge for home preparation; and cereal bars and sachets of moosli (muesli). Nutri’zaza strives to make these quality, locally-produced products accessible to all Malagasy families, including the most vulnerable.

In this country with its many challenges, the private sector is demonstrating its dynamism and capacity for innovation in response to socio-economic and health issues. In terms of public health, Nutri’zaza’s social objective is more relevant than ever. The company manages to reach a considerable audience: Nutrizaza distributes an average of over 42,000 rations a day, including 23,500 by the ladle to the most vulnerable populations, and employs 273 people.

An atypical company in SIDI’s portfolio, historically dedicated to financial inclusion and agricultural value chains, the alignment of this social enterprise’s mission with SIDI’s social mission makes it a central partner on the Grande Ile. This alignment is guaranteed by the inclusion of this social mission in Nutrizaza’s own articles of association.

A lasting partnership, a key to consolidating the company

SIDI is proud to have supported the development of this social enterprise for 10 years: through its patient capital, its participation in governance and its technical support, SIDI has contributed to the consolidation of Nutri’zaza. Alongside SIDI are GRET, the initiator of the Nutrimad project; TAF, a Malagasy agro-industrial group entrusted with the manufacture of Koba Aina, and the Association pour la Promotion de l’Entreprenariat à Madagascar[1]. The complementary nature of these shareholders, who all participate in the company’s governance, is a strength for Nutri’zaza. As such, each shareholder contributes his or her expertise and technical knowledge: SIDI is therefore particularly attentive to the balance of the company’s business model.

Over the past 10 years, SIDI has been able to accompany Nutri’zaza through its various deployment phases, made possible thanks to the support of institutional donors, notably the Agence Française de Développement and the European Union. Over the years, Nutri’zaza has diversified its product range, forging a strong partnership with Chocolaterie Robert to produce two new fortified products: a chocolate bar and a moosli for older children.

In 10 years, Nutri’zaza has demonstrated its capacity for innovation and resilience in the face of major external shocks, notably the COVID 19 health crisis. The teams must now continue their work to consolidate the business model.

[1 ] The founding shareholders also included Investisseurs et Partenaires, which sold its shares to the remaining shareholders in 2017.

Photo credits: Nutri’zaza 2023