Banking for the people, by the people.
In the rural areas of Mali it is difficult for women to secure loans from conventional banks because they lack a credit history and collateral to guarantee a loan.
Yagana Microcredit is a grassroots, locally run and owned microcredit cooperative created in 2014 by a group of rural women farmers to meet their needs and those of the community at large. The microcredit grew from 123 beneficiaries in 2014 to 1678 beneficiaries in 2021 and continues to grow. Demand exceeds supply due to the low interest rate and its popularity as a trusted local institution.
Yagana Microcredit lends primarily to women, but some men are eligible for loans under certain conditions such as young men in economically challenging situations vulnerable to jihadist recruitment and the lure of illegal emigration by sea. The initiative’s purpose is to give a helping hand to socially and economically vulnerable people in order to restore dignity and autonomy. It enables people to engage in market gardening, small trading and other income-generating activities ensuring greater and, above all, more regular cash flow. Households save more, take out health insurance, improve their housing and enroll children in school. People are able to manage their lives independently and are actors in their own development.
Yagana offers its members workshops on good communication skills, conflict resolution, voting awareness, financial management, small business management, dental hygiene and other topics according to the need.
Yagana Microcredit is financially self-sustaining.
Outcome Objectives of Yagana Microcredit
OUTCOME 1: to increase the lending capacity of the bank to meet the overwhelming demand for affordable loans
OUTCOME 2: to fund essential social actions/projects Yagana uses a percentage of its profit to fund social projects. Such projects are: financing medical treatment for community members who can’t afford to pay for it, building communal wells, community infrastructure repair projects.
OUTCOME 3: to direct even more young people away from joining jihadists groups by supporting them in the creation of small business ventures, offering training and involving them in the creation and operation of social projects organized funded by Yagana (i.e. participation in the digging of communal wells, counter the effects erosion and desertification by making stone dams, planting trees and other vegetation, etc.)
OUTCOME 4: to offer 3 workshops series per year over the next 4 years (to 800 number of people) on the following subjects: small business creation, management; accounting,
OUTCOME 5: reduce illegal emigration by engaging young people in the economic development of their region
OUTCOME 6: reduce school drop outs (particularly of young girls who, for economic and social reasons, are under pressure to stay home).
Help grow Yagana Microcredit’s lending capacity and activities!