Since 1996, Minonkpo has been working in partnership with Ecidec for the implementation of a micro-credit program.
Minonkpo, which means 'stick together and we'll be strong' in fon, is a non profit organization with headquarters in Porto-Novo.
The team is currently composed of 23 persons:
A contrasting Benin context:
While Benin is characterized by its political stability, it belongs to the group of least developed countries: with GDP per capita / year. EUR 400 (2003), it ranks 162nd out of 177 developing countries according to UNDP HDI report 2005.
Its population, estimated at 7.5 million inhabitants, growing at a sustained annual rate of 3%. She is young (45.6% under 15 years) and still predominantly rural (56.2%) despite rapid urbanization of 5% per year.
Benin has a high economic burden to the economy of the sub-region suffers from an undiversified economy, oriented towards the service sector and agriculture is very sensitive to external shocks, including trade policy in Nigeria.
With densities of more than 500 inhabitants per square kilometer inland from Porto-Novo is under great pressure on land which penalizes the most vulnerable populations. Thus, this context is detrimental to small producers who have more and more difficult to live in their productive activities.
Women are the first to feel this pressure. To overcome the shortfalls of income of their husbands, they must intensify their trade activities and crafts. These new demands put them in a precarious situation and greatly increase their responsibilities in the economic survival of the household.
The villages where we work are located within a radius of 15 km around Porto-Novo. Porto Novo is the administrative capital of Benin, located 50 km east of Cotonou, on the border of Nigeria. Thirty villages are affected by our program. These villages have between 100 and 1000 people and we reach about 10% of the population of this area, which is insufficient to cover all needs.
Two financial products to meet two needs
It is proposed to women living in villages around Porto-Novo. It aims to place these women out of a spiral of chronic poverty and put them in a dynamic project, thanks in part to the specific training they need to be followed prior to obtaining their credit. For them, the priority is to get out of a logic of 'survival'.
Credits are individual surety in a group, composed of 3 to 5 people. There are no criteria of credit allocation: each recipient is free to use the money according to its priorities, the key is to meet repayment deadlines.
In fact, the credit is used to make the acceptable daily seeking to improve its business: purchase of equipment for processing agricultural products, farm machinery, increased working capital for trade in women.
It is intended for both women and men living in Porto-Novo. He will serve a population less fragile than concerned by the 'kick start loan', but still remains excluded from traditional banking systems.
The value of the "entrepreneur loan" is to strengthen a network of small, dynamic entrepreneurs and assisting them in managing their economic activity: training, market research ...
This credit can therefore create jobs and wealth in the areas of carpentry, molding, sewing, masonry ...
A satisfaction survey conducted by Ecidec among 200 beneficiaries in 2005 showed that access to the "kick start loans" program allows recipients:
