Programme area. The programme will focus on areas already covered by other IFAD-financed operations in Mali (the Sahelian Areas Development Fund Programme, the Kidal Integrated Rural Development Programme, and the Northern Regions Investment and Rural Development Programme) in order to capitalize on their achievements and exploit the demand generated through their microprojects and income-generating activities. Specifically, it will cover the regions of Koulikoro, Mopti and Ségou in the Sahelian belt and Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu in the Sahelo-Saharian area.

Target group.  The programme will target agropastoralists, small farmers, small livestock breeders, young people and women heads of households. Because of their high poverty levels, poor living conditions and limited access to productive assets, women and young people will be the priority focus of programme activities.  

Programme objectives. The programme's overall objective is to contribute to increasing and developing sustainable financial services that are adapted to the rural population's socio-economic environment. This will be achieved by bringing about sustainable improvements in the quality and quantity of financial services, and the performance of microfinance service providers.  

Programme description. The programme will be organized around four components, to be fine-tuned during programme design:

• Access to financial services. The programme will (i) strengthen the supply of financial services in rural areas and facilitate target group access to these services as a way of improving their incomes; and (ii) support the identification and development of financial services and products on a demand-driven basis.

• Capacity-building. This component aims at professionalizing the microfinance sector and increasing the sustainability of microfinance networks by developing training programmes to support local representatives and technical advisors.

• Resources mobilization. The programme will mobilize financial resources to enable microfinance institutions to access additional resources and expand credit outreach. It will also contribute to the national microfinance development strategy and workplan review, and to the formulation of a rural financial policy.

• Programme management and monitoring. This component will support programme coordination, implementation oversight and financial management, and will also cover the costs of establishing and maintaining an effective monitoring and evaluation system.

Important features. The proposed programme is aligned with the Government's poverty reduction strategy paper for 2007-2011. It will contribute to improving living conditions and food security in the Sahelian and Sahelo-Saharan zones, an objective of Mali’s Strategic Framework for Growth and Poverty Reduction. It will build on the lessons learned from past IFAD operations in Mali and is fully consonant with the first strategic objective of IFAD's 2007 country strategic opportunities programme, which highlights the need to improve access to financial services. The programme’s design of credit products that are demand-based and tailored to target group needs will be innovative within the country context.

Potential cofinanciers. Discussions are ongoing with the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, and the Italian Government (for use of the Italian Supplementary Fund). Other interested cofinanciers are invited to contact IFAD.

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Photo caption 1: IFAD photo by Horst Wagner - Mali - Village Development Fund Programme - Phase II - Members of a credit committee meet monthly in the village of Thienmarka, Markala.

Photo caption 2: Photo by Horst Wagner - Mali - Village Development Fund Programme - Phase II - This small shop in the village of Douga started up thanks to a loan from the village fund.

Facts and figures Region: Western and Central Africa Programme ID number: 1441 Nature of programme: Financial services Programme cost (provisional): US$29.0 million Estimated IFAD loan (provisional): To be determined Cofinancing gap: See section on potential cofinanciers Domestic contribution (provisional): To be determined Stage of programme cycle: Under design Next step in programme development: A country meeting is scheduled for end February/early March 2008, followed by a Technical Review Committee meeting in June and design completion in July 2008. Tentative date for consideration by the Executive Board: April 2009 Programme duration: Eight years Tentative programme start-up date: December 2009 Implementing agency: Food Security Commisariat Borrower: Republic of Mali Hot links Rural poverty in Mali IFAD operations in Mali Planned project activities disclaimer Contact information Mr M. Béavogui Director, Western and Central Africa Mr L. Sarr Country Programme Manager e-mail: l.sarr@ifad.org International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Via Paolo di Dono, 44, 00142 Rome, Italy Tel: +39 0654591 e-mail: ifad@ifad.org