Salimata Baldé

“Context of the project: Casamance is an enclosed region of Senegal. It has the potential to be rich, but is very poor. Its population is young with a majority of women, who are preponderant in the local economy and constitute the region’s engine of development.

Purpose of the loan: To give a boost to economic activities in the area and to allow the young women of the local area to stay on their land by creating income-generating activities.

Activities: A good area of land will be put to use cultivating sesame seeds, which will be turned into oil after harvest, and the women will make use of the seeds to make cookies which they will sell, and the seeds will also be consumed by the member’s families.”

Original French:

« Contexte du Projet: La Casamance est une région enclavée du Sénégal. Elle est potentiellement riche mais très pauvre. Sa population est jeune avec une majorité des femmes qui sont prépondérantes dans l’économie locale et constituent le moteur du développement.

Objectifs du Prêt : Relance des activités économiques dans la localité, Fixer les jeunes femmes de la localité dans leurs territoires par la création d’activités génératrices de revenus.

Activités : Un bon périmètre de terre sera exploité en culture de sésame qui après récolte sera transformé en huile, et le céréale servira aux femmes de faire des gâteaux qu’elles vendrons et aussi au familles. »

Background

Senegal is one of the world’s poorest countries, yet its solid democratic tradition and highly developed associational life distinguish it from other countries in its income group. Especially remarkable are Senegal’s networks of rotating savings and credit associations, which provide the rural poor throughout the country with small loans to finance modest income-generating activities. Repayment rates within these groups are excellent, because they are based on local reputation and personal trust between the members. However, their financial resources are limited to the contributions of their members, frequently subsistence farmers with very little disposable income. This has prevented the traditional associations from meeting the demand for rural microenterprise loans and restricted their impact on the economic development of their communities. Senegal Ecovillage Microfinance (SEM) works with our partner organization CRESP to bridge this gap by linking traditional village credit associations with outside sources of finance.