Mohamed Attanda

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m Mohamed Attanda Executive Director of MAIN (Microfinance African Institutions Network) since 2014.

How did MAIN come into contact with SIDI?

The MAIN network itself was born out of SIDI’s African partnerships, which existed in December 1995. In December 1995, to complement its global approach to supporting its partners on the African continent, SIDI decided to provide long-term support to the managers of 4 social finance and microfinance institutions in Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, Mauritania and Madagascar, to form the first continental network dedicated to the microfinance sector in Africa, in the form of an association under African law. SIDI was therefore a co-founding member of the MAIN network and has remained faithful to its commitment to this day, with the shared mission of strengthening the players in African inclusive finance.

What do you think was SIDI’s decisive contribution to this partnership?

In my opinion, what has been decisive for SIDI in this partnership is its unwavering determination to support the implementation of a capacity-building agenda by the players themselves; and to mobilize its networks in Europe “relentlessly” to finance successive programs of activity over these 28 years of “companionship”. Another essential element was SIDI’s active and lasting presence on the Board of Directors of the MAIN network.

SIDI has always shared the successes and difficulties of the MAIN network…and the results are there: MAIN today represents a dynamic of professional training and exchanges for over 125 members in 23 African countries.

SIDI was a co-founding member of the MAIN network and has remained faithful to its commitment.