Context
The Ivory Coast was formerly the most prosperous country of the UEMOA (West African Monetary and Economic Union). Nowadays, it reveals a high poverty rate (166th rank up to 177 in the Human Development Indice ranking): 42% of the population lives under the poverty line and unemployment rate reaches record figures, from 40 to 50% of the population.
To overcome extreme poverty, Ivory women largely invest in Income-Generating Activities (IGA) to fulfill vital needs of their families. Those feminine activities represent one of the most important initiatives of the informal sector, particularly in Abidjan. However, Ivory women suffer from a strong discrimination in financial services access. To face this phenomenon, microfinance focuses mainly on women.
Still, during the last ten years, Ivory Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) revealed an outstanding economic growth. In the end of 2006, the Ivory Coast officially accounted for 91 institutions of microfinance, of which more than 70 were small isolated structures. Although several crisis recently burst in the country, which slowed the microfinance development process, microfinance remains the major financing tool of economically active women excluded from the classical banking sector.
Objectives
Reduce women's vulnerability through training and microfinance adapted services
Specific Objectives :
- Promote and develop women's entrepreneurship
- Enhance women entrepreneur practices
- Facilitate a financial services supply, adapted to the feminine entrepreneurship, through partner MFI.
Target groups
Direct Beneficiaries :
- 400 women microentrepreneur ( for training)
- 800 microentrepreneur women (for sensitizing to entrepreneuriat activities)
- The 3 partner MFIs which support the feminine entrepreneuriat
Beneficiary women work in a 90% in little commercial businesses in Abidjan and its surroundings' big markets (Koumassi, Treichville, Youpougon, Adjamé, Abobo etc.). The other beneficiary women are needlewomen or agriculture products hand manufacturers (above all for the attiéké and the aloco).
Indirect Beneficiaries :
More than 12 200 persons among the families and relatives of the partner MFIs' members/clients.
Activities
Activity 1: Training of women in microentreprise management
- Study on women microentreprise capacity-building
- Selection of trainers and recipient women of the trainings
Activity 2: Awareness to the entrepreneurship
- Design of an awareness strategy
- Refining of awareness tools
- Implementation of awareness events
Activity 3: Technical Assistance to the Partner MFIs
- Diagnostic of partner MFIs
- Design of the technical assistance plan
- Support to the technical assistance plan implementation
- Support to the training unit implementation
- Definition of a financing long term pattern of these units
Methodology
- Enhancing of the local actors capacities for a long-lasting action, complementary and in conjunction with financial and non financial services
- Definition of a long-lasting economic model for non financial services intended to the MFIs' women microentrepreneur members/clients
- Proactive participation of the beneficiaries in the project
Impact
- The entrepreneurial capacities of women are enhanced: 400 women microentrepreneurs members/clients of the partner MFIs are trained and 800 women get informed on women entrepreneurship
- The women entrepreneurship is developed: 1 200 women members/clients of the partner or not MFIs are sensitized to the entrepreneurship through sensitizing public events.
- The financial and non financial services access through MFIs is facilitated: 12 283 members of the MFIs will benefit from non financial services and 50% of trained women gained a credit form.
