Partner Description:

Agence de Crédit pour l’Entreprise Privée (ACEP) was launched by the Cameroonian State with the help of the French Development Agency and the European Union in 1999 to provide microfinance services to poor entrepreneurs in urban areas. In September 2005, ACEP Cameroon became a private microfinance institution, and has been one of the top five MFIs in Cameroon in the past few years (in terms of GLP). With a current portfolio exceeding USD$25 million, a staff of more than 150 people spread over 11 branch offices, and a well-tested methodology, ACEP is in a sustainable position to expand to new regions and serve more people.

ACEP’s mission is to contribute in an efficient way to the fight against poverty through microcredit loans to micro-enterprises. It focuses on urban entrepreneurs in the main economic centers of Cameroon: Yaoundé (political capital), Douala (economic capital) and Bafoussam. ACEP's primary loan product, called TPE, serves customers in need of working capital, money to purchase goods or equipment, or for business planning purposes. This loan product has an 18-month repayment cycle. ACEP also offers a group loan with similar terms, as well as a personal loan product for clients who deposit their paychecks with the bank.

With funds from Kiva lenders, ACEP is now providing an additional loan product tailored to low-income entrepreneurs working in urban markets. Since it serves a particularly vulnerable population, this Kiva loan product is smaller than ACEP's other loans, and is offered free of upfront service charges and obligatory savings, and with reduced penalties for late payments. In addition to these loan products, ACEP provides voluntary savings accounts as well as money transfers and overdraft protection services.