VSLAS (Village Saving & Loan Associations) - Benin

MICROFINANCE IN BENIN

Beninese women's access to financing

Benin has a population of approximately 11,527,412 inhabitants (INSAE estimates) with a predominantly young population. Unlike other nations, it has a female-dominated population (51.5%). More than 90% of them animate the life of our markets, shopping centers, shops, etc. Paradoxically, they are confronted in the implementation of their economic activity with the difficulty of access to credits. Excluded from formal economic and financial circuits, they resort to the informal circuit to finance their activities. This does not always offer social protection.

To solve this difficulty, governments are opting for financial inclusion through the promotion of microfinance institutions. This is the possibility for women entrepreneurs or women's associations to access at a lower cost a whole range of useful financial products and services adapted to their activities/companies offered by reliable and responsible service providers.

Context of the microfinance market in Benin

As of June 30, 2017, the decentralized finance sector in Benin is composed of ninety-eight (98) Decentralized Financial Systems (DFS) distributed as follows:

• three (03) SFD constituted in the form of a company;
• seventy-six (76) mutual or cooperative DFS including three (03) networks;
• nineteen (19) DFS constituted in the form of associations or NGOs.

The SFDs are established on the national territory through 639 representation in the form of: service points, agencies or counters.

Some indicators on DFS in 2017

The main characteristic indicators of the decentralized finance sector are as follows:

• SFD clientele 1,966,510 people;
• the outstanding credit of SFDs is 280,181,182 US dollars;
• the amount of the deposits is estimated at 235,468,928 US Dollars;
• the amount of internal credit lines stands at 58,232,004. US Dollars.