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Support
to Economic Grass Roots Initiatives Project (AIEB)
This project had the long-term objectives of fostering a sustainable
development dynamics in the rural sector, solving the unemployment
problem and improving the income and living standard of the most
disadvantaged rural families. In the short and medium terms, one
of the objectives was also to reduce the rural exodus.
The project was based on two components: support for economic initiatives and
rural finance. The strategy adopted was that of diversifying economic activities
in rural areas through the creation of non-agricultural microenterprises and
mobilizing local savings to fund these initiatives.
Despite the difficulties faced by the project (four loan suspensions, the longest
of which lasted 23 months between 1998 and 2000, then the restarting and strategic
reorientation of the project in the same year), its activities had a considerable
impact on development of the microfinance sector, with the creation of the Comoros
Savings and Credit Associations (MECKs). This network of decentralized institutions,
located in 12 semi-urban centres, covers the whole of the country today
and has a wider geographical coverage than commercial banks, although its penetration
rate is still poor. It now has 30,000 members and a capital of US$15.0 million
in savings.
Results in the microenterprise sector were also satisfactory: more than 880 microentrepreneurs
were supported by the project and 130 microenterprises were set up, generating
more than 300 jobs in rural areas.
Source: IFAD
email this article
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| Contact information |
Mr Benoît Thierry
Country programme manager
IFAD
Via Paolo di Dono, 44
00142 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 0654592234
Fax: +39 0654593234
b.thierry@ifad.org |
| Facts and figures |
Total cost: US$4.8 million
IFAD loan: US$3.5 million
Duration: 1995-2004
Geographical area: countrywide
Directly benefiting: 14,755 households
Cofinancing:
- Government (US$713,000)
- Local NGOs (US$15,000)
- Développement international
Desjardins (US$561,000)
Status: closed
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| Partners |
- Ministry of Rural Development, Fisheries
and the Environment
- Développement international Desjardins
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