SICSA, a key player in inclusive finance in Central America

Clients Microfinance (10)

SICSA is a microfinance refinancing institution registered in Panama but with offices in Honduras. Created in 2006 on the initiative of the Central American microfinance network REDCAMIF, it plays a key role in supporting the microfinance sector in Central America. This region, marked by high levels of inequality and chronic political instability, remains one of the world’s most vulnerable to economic and climatic shocks. Microfinance plays an essential role in enabling populations excluded from traditional banking channels to develop a business and strengthen their resilience.

Now active in six countries, SICSA offers a diversified range of financial products and services to some thirty small microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the region. Its added value lies in its ability to act as an intermediary for these MFIs, which are generally not large enough to attract funds from international investors.

By providing financial support to these MFIs, SICSA reaches the most vulnerable populations, helping to reduce poverty through financial inclusion. It focuses in particular on women, young people and rural communities. The aim is to encourage their long-term empowerment by financing income-generating activities such as trade and agriculture.

SICSA attaches particular importance to the quality of its offering and to the satisfaction of its partner MFIs, which is regularly assessed via surveys. It also ensures that these institutions share its social values and ambitions. As a signatory to the Joint Declaration on Customer Protection, it actively promotes best practices in this area. At the same time, SICSA integrates an environmental dimension into its mission by supporting its customers in the development of green financial products.

A strategic and lasting partnership

The partnership between SICSA and SIDI began in 2015 and has grown stronger over the years thanks to SICSA’s stability and social commitment. In 2019, SIDI acquired a stake in the institution, marking a commitment to long-term collaboration. Since then, a SIDI consultant has sat on SICSA’s Board of Directors and taken part in strategic decisions, particularly on social and environmental issues.

In 2022, at SIDI’s instigation, SICSA’s management committee benefited from an awareness-raising session on social and environmental performance. The workshop highlighted good practices already in place within the institution, and highlighted the need to formalize them in order to better leverage their impact.

Following SICSA’s strategic planning for 2023, SIDI offered dedicated support to structure and highlight the organization’s social and environmental commitment. Over the course of a year, SIDI’s PES department worked with the SICSA team to establish a formal framework including social objectives and monitoring indicators. The entire SICSA team was involved in this project, which generated enriching exchanges on the organization’s mission, practices and future ambitions.

Once the objectives and indicators had been defined, in-depth work was carried out on data collection and consolidation tools to ensure effective monitoring of social and environmental performance over the long term. After an initial test of these new tools, and successful data collection by the Sicsa team, the PSE division continued its support by assisting the organization in drawing up their first social report.

A stronger commitment to the future

This dynamic has led to a concrete result: a first social balance sheet that clearly illustrates SICSA’s positioning and social impact in Central America. More than a simple formalization exercise, this work has enabled SICSA to anchor its social and environmental commitment as a central strategic axis of its business.

We are proud to support SICSA in this endeavor and are convinced that this structuring effort will help strengthen its impact in the field. Many thanks to the entire SICSA team for their commitment and vision, and we look forward to continuing this wonderful collaboration!

A découvrir ! Le bilan social de SICSA

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”.

Discover SIDI’s 2021 activity report

The 2021 Activity Report is online!

The year 2021 was still very much marked by the effects of the Covid19 pandemic, but let us salute everyone’s commitment, which enabled SIDI to pursue its mission as a solidarity investor serving the financial and economic inclusion of populations excluded from conventional financial systems.

Discover the performances and achievements of SIDI and its partner organizations, all committed to ecological and social transition. Aware of the significant financing and support needs that remain, SIDI is fully mobilized to respond to the ever-increasing challenges facing the most vulnerable populations.

Let’s stick to our course and our ambition to promote socially responsible finance!

 

 

 

 

Publication of SIDI’s 2021 Social and Environmental Report

SIDI’s Bilan Social et Environnemental 2021 (Social and Environmental Report 2021) presents the key figures of its activity in favour of the development of inclusive economies, mainly in rural areas.

 

In 2021, SIDI is pursuing its mission as a solidarity investor and demonstrating the added value of its action.

It supports
144 partners in 36 countries: rural or mixed MFIs, agricultural entities mostly certified organic and fair trade.

It continues to target the most vulnerable:

✔️ 73% of partners are located in countries vulnerable to climate change

✔️ 73% of partners are located in countries with a low or medium HDI

✔️ 57% of partners are located in low-banking countries

✔️ 53% of PF dedicated to Sub-Saharan Africa

Empowering partners remains a priority:

📌 51% of PF is devoted to capital investment ;

📌 1/3 of loans are for more than 36 months

It reinforces the customized support provided to partners via three channels:

→ participation in decision-making bodies

→ personalized support

→ technical assistance

Find all the figures and data from the Social and Environmental Report 2021

 

 

 

SIDI acquires a stake in ACEP Burkina

[chapeau]SIDI acquires a 20% stake in ACEP Burkina by purchasing the shares of the Incofin CVSO fund.[/chapeau]

Today, ACEP Burkina is the second largest microfinance institution (MFI) in Burkina Faso by portfolio size and reach: over 32,000 active customers, 23% of whom are women, and more than 15,000 borrowers. It focuses mainly on micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

Through this acquisition, SIDI wishes to strengthen its commitment to the development of inclusive finance in Africa and more particularly in the Sahel region. Given the multiple challenges facing the region – political and security issues, the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector, lack of employment opportunities particularly for young people – SIDI considers it a priority to develop its activities in the area in order to achieve its mission of social and environmental transition.

SIDI is currently working with 9 partners in Burkina Faso in a wide variety of sectors: inclusive finance, sustainable agricultural value chains, renewable energies and seed capital for small-scale industries that create jobs and added value. In Burkina Faso, 40% of the population still lives below the poverty line.

Becoming a shareholder of ACEP Burkina is a strong commitment on the part of SIDI and an opportunity to strengthen and diversify its activities in the country by including in its portfolio one of the leading and strong MFIs in the financial inclusion market. SIDI will therefore play an active role in governance to help strengthen the institution and promote social and environmental performance alongside financial and operational viability.

Read the press release here