The Director General of the African Solidarity Fund (FSA), Mr. Ahmadou Abdoulaye Diallo and the Director General of the Faîtière des Caisses Populaires (FCP) of Burkina Faso, Mr. Daouda Sawadago officially initialed yesterday morning, at the headquarters of the FSA in Niamey , the documents providing a portfolio guarantee in favor of the FCP-BF. Worth a total of 2.5 billion FCFA, this partnership agreement will allow the FCP of Burkina Faso to diversify its service offer to its customers, mainly made up of Very Small Enterprises (TPE); Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Small and Medium Industries (SMI). The documents ratifying this agreement were recorded in the presence of a representative of the Consul of Burkina Faso to the Republic of Niger, as well as the credit manager of the CFP-BF, Mr. Romain Tougma and several directors of the FSA.
The idea of sealing a partnership agreement between the African Solidarity Fund and the umbrella organization of the Caisses Populaires of Burkina Faso had germinated during a meeting of the two heads of institutions in France. Indeed, the time has come today to concretize the idea that the two managers cherished two (2) years ago, precisely in 2017. By speaking out shortly before the signing of the agreement, the director general of the Afriacin Solidarity Fund, Mr. Ahmadou Abdoulaye Diallo specified that in developing countries such as Burkina Faso and most ASF member states, the development of micro-finance is an important vector not only in the fight against poverty but also the financial inclusion of a large section of our populations. The development of micro-finance is also a factor that contributes to the empowerment of women when we know that in the demographic structure, they represent 51% of the population. ''This is the reason why whenever we can set up financial instruments that are likely to empower it more, we will contribute to the fight against poverty. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a study on poverty. This study has shown that each time a woman gets rich, it affects the well-being of all members of her family. It is a good thing that we can give the FCP in Burkina Faso the means to provide 39 credit unions with a portfolio guarantee of 2.5 billion FCFA. Which will certainly reduce the approach cost. The FSA has a subsidiarity problem. The fact that the FCP-BF is very close to our target clientele suits us a lot, especially since we go through it to be able to reach this clientele. I have the hope that this line of credit will be quickly consumed through the realization of concrete projects in the field”, wished the general manager of the FSA.
For his part, the managing director of the FCP-BF, Mr. Daouda Sawadago, who is preparing to pass the baton of this institution in two months, Burkina Faso has a long and rich experience in the field of microfinance. The first credit union was created 47 years ago, particularly in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso. ''The umbrella organization of the Caisses Populaires du Burkina Faso currently has 200 points of sale for its services throughout the territory. It now has 1,200,000 customers who are account holders. In terms of customers and those who use FCP's services, there are more than 2,500,000 people. With regard to the local savings mobilized, the FCP of Burkina is at 100 billion FCFA. In terms of personnel, it has 1,200 permanent employees, 75% of whom are women. This means that the umbrella organization of Burkina Faso's credit unions is therefore delighted to cooperate with a prestigious institution that is the FSA, the keystone of the financing systems of States, public and private companies in the sub-region'', concluded the general manager of the FCP of Burkina Faso.