Proud to be a Nakolbzanga!

(Narrated by Adelaide Gros)

It’s nearly a year since the spirulina project in partnership with the MFI AsIEnA started in Koudougou, Burkina Faso. The time has therefore come for a first evaluation and it’s an opportunity to discuss with the Nakoglbzanga* and know their feelings and motivations about the project.

I wanted to share with you the conversation I had with Georgette Kansono, Nakoglbzanga from Goundi a nearby village. What struck me most when meeting her is Georgette’s pride. When we mention spirulina, she smiles and immediately launches in a detailed explanation about the benefits the green powder has on people’s health if consumed regularly. She is all the more convincing that she experienced it herself. Since taking 5 grams of spirulina with her daily bowl of rice or to, she sleeps better and feels stronger.
Everybody in the village knows she sells spirulina in the village. And she adds that the recognition she gets from being a Nakoglbzanga is very important. She displays her Nakoglbzanga badge proudly, and head high definitely looks like she is very aware of the responsibility that rests on her shoulders. She surveys the crowd the alleys of the market, shouts with great conviction "spirulina, spirulina" and walks around selling the green and yellow sachets of spirulina. She also explains that she combines the position of Nakoglbzanga, which is a new income-generating activity for her with that of Mama Health, a benevolent role in which she handles the sales that take place within her MUSO ** to the members of the group and their families.

It is now usual that some villagers might come knocking on her door asking for a word of advice, as they have some health issues. Georgette speaks of spirulina with passion and is undoubtedly a great ambassador of this food supplement. But she remains realistic: Yes, spirulina can brings health and is good for everyone, children, adults and elderly alike, but it’s not a drug, it can never replace a chemist or doctor’s prescription. And to enjoy the benefits of spirulina, it must be consumed regularly, not as a one-off like some tables but for at least two or three weeks per year. Sadly at the moment in Burkina Faso, during the lean period, when granaries are empty and fields not yet ready to be harvested, families who live in the countryside can no longer afford to pay for spirulina. At the price of 500 FCFA francs per sachet, even loyal clients can not find the cash and have to wait until next month to resume their treatment. Georgette laments about this situation not because her profits decline during the winter season, but because she really cares about the health of its neighbours and there does not seem to be an easy solution to this pricing problem, local spirulina farms are already selling under margins.
All 25 trained Nakoglbzanga in Koudougou currently face a real challenge to fulfil their task, because customers have less money, but the cost of spirulina remains the same. But the priority remains for Georgette and the other Nakoglbzanga of the project to inform people about the benefits of spirulina and to try by all means to make it accessible to people living in the bush. In the meantime, EdM and AsIEnA are also talking with the farms to see how to possibly reduce the costs and selling prices, while not impacting on the sustainability of the project or the viability of farms ... A fine balance to strike...

* Spirulina sellers and counsellors, they are all members of the MFI AsIEna and belong to different MUSO. The name means 'the one who looks after the well-being of all' in the local dialect Moré.
** MUSO, Mutuelle Solidarité, a solidarity group of men and women who belong to the MFI AsIEnA.

The Success Story of June in Burkina Faso

Growing vegetables is increasingly popular for farmers in Burkina Faso after the rainy season. Jean-Baptiste Compaore, a farmer residing in Tansèga, a village situated some 35 km from Ouagadougou, the political capital of Burkina Faso, is one of those brave people who farm the land every day to make a living.

Originally from Tansèga, Jean-Baptiste grows cabbage, peppers and aubergines on his plot. He also grows tree saplings and tries himself at breeding.

Member of the Wend Waoga group, a group strong of eight men, he is also married and the father of seven children, amongst whom, four go to school. The family lives in a compound of five mud huts, three of which are for his family.

Jean-Baptiste learnt subsistence farming from a young age from his father. He proudly explains to us what tools are needed: watering cans, buckets, spades, shovels, rakes, small dabas* for digging holes and bars to dig water holes and wells, as there are no dam nearby. The major difficulty encountered is actually watering, as the wells dry up and it’s impossible to maintain a good level of water throughout the year. Farmers would therefore need cement and sand to improve the wells, but this represents a big investment and remains a limiting factor. Jean-Baptiste is in this situation because he can not yet fund such an expense, no matter how beneficial it would be for the crops.

During the rainy season, Jean-Baptiste wakes up at three a.m. to go to his garden, then goes to the field from eight to farm. At the end of the day around four, he returns to his plot and check his vegetables. He wants to water before nightfall and also check for parasites.

Although close to the capital city, the population of Tansèga conducts agro-pastoral activities similar to rural places, and despite their proximity to the big city, it is not easy for them to travel to Ouagadougou to go to a credit union or a bank.

A while back, the Wend Waoga group got counselling from the local radio "Vive le Paysan" which guided them to the Agricultural and Commercial Bank of Burkina (BACB). But most recently, Jean-Baptiste and his group heard of AsIEnA and the methods of this microfinance institution promoting self-sufficiency appealed to them a lot. They also liked the fact that AsIeNa is equipped with a mobile van, that doubles up as an office and so the loan officer comes and meets the group on site every month.

Jean-Baptiste has now been a partner of the MFI for three months and got a first loan amounting to 25000FCFA. This enabled him to purchase seeds and fertilizer.

Right now, Jean-Baptiste just started harvesting his vegetables and sells them on the local market, it has already yield a return of 17550FCFA, but the season is only starting and he hopes to at least double his income when the rest of his crop. He then intends to use his earnings to repay the credit of course, but also to buy more seeds and grow more species. Then he intends to take a second loan with AsIEnA, of a higher amount to restore and improve the two wells that are currently not in use.


(Story collected by Armel Guenguere)
* A daba is a little rake produced locally

Celebrating Women's Day in Burkina Faso

Microstart** celebrates Women's Day in Koubri

It was Clara Zetkin who created Women's Day at the International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen in 1910, then some 60 years later, the 8th March officially became the UN's Women's Day.
This day is now a public holiday in Burkina Faso, Laos, Ukraine, Russia and many other countries. Nowadays, the 8th March is loosing its activist edge in some places like France, where husbands are urged to take their wives to Venice for a WE or to offer them a perfume, but certainly not in Burkina Faso, where the whole country prepares for weeks in advance and celebrates with numerous dances, ceremonies, speeches and round-tables about women's rights.
'Investing in girls and women for sustainable development' was this year's theme... Sadly, Burkina Faso still has some progress to make as far as gender issues are concerned, women still remain, with children, the most vulnerable group to poverty, they suffer violence of all kinds, discrimination and exclusion social. Arranged weddings, domestic violence, sexual harassment in schools, social exclusion of older women ... are only some of the many causes of suffering here for girls and women, not to forget the persistence of female circumcision, despite numerous campaigns to eradicate it.
One can't help to feel hopeful though, when seeing the Koubri women parading in their beautiful clothes, some carrying babies in their back, others proudly displaying their working tools, but all of them walking heads up before the local administrative and religious authorities and talking about self-sufficiency and education. The mayor of Ouagadougou, Mr Simon Compaore attended the event in person, so one hopes that the message of Ms. Phoebe Ouedraogo, the dynamic and charismatic head of the microfinance institution Microstart, will be heard. As the sponsor of the event, she adressed amongst others the men in power to give women more seats in local and general elections (there are for example only 3 women's councillors out of 51 in Koubri).
While on the podium, she kept quiet about the great work her MFI is doing, putting into pratice the day's slogan. Ms Ouedraogo's choice as sponsor of the event was very telling, as she and her team are helping thousands of women to come out of poverty through microfinance. Partners of Microstart are organized in groups of 5 or more and borrow amounts ranging from 5,000 to 500,000 CFA francs at a rate of 2% per month, all are encouraged to save at least 10% of the loan amount. With this method and the training offered by the institution, including a literacy program in collaboration with the FONAEF (National Fund for the Education of Girls), they can gain education, send their children to school and simply provide their families three meals a day.
The success of the day showed the impact institutions like Microstart can make to a village like Koubri. This confirms for us at EdM, the importance of supporting them behind the scenes and helping them continue to 'invest in girls and women for a sustainable development '.

** EdM met Microstart a year ago when opening up its new branch in Burkina Faso. The partnership was forged, over a shared vision of reaching out to the poorest and because the MFI needed technical support to better use their management and information systems (Loan Performer).

MUFEDE combines microfinance and agriculture to ripe more benefits

From the 16th to 20th September 2008, under the Regional Action Program for Social Economy (PARESOC), Mutualité Femmes Développement (MUFEDE), one of the partenr MFIs of EDM in Burkina Faso asked teachers from the Zood Nooma Society to conduct a training on 'food banks - how to best store cereals' and on 'fertilising fields with natural technics'. This took place in one of MUFEDE's branch, about 110 km from Ouagadougou, with Mr Abdoulaye Boly, branch manager. The branch counts 1,500 members, but it's 40 people in total who attended the class. It began with a lecture in Moré and French, then practical work took place outside, first in the field of the President of Zood Nooma near the lake and then at the food bank of the association. Both topics were important to MUFEDE's partenrs who work in agriculture or raise livestock. Amongst other things, the participants were able to learn more about methods of storage and warehouse management, hygiene but also anti pest control and basic accountancy technics. They also found out how to reduce soil erosion or make compost.

This event was an opportunity for Mr Sombié, the head of the savings department at MUFEDE to meet the president of Zood Nooma. The latter is very interested in working with MUFEDE and explore synergies that may exist between micro-credit, food security and soil fertility.

The participants were delighted with their training and are committed to in turn train other members of their group at their next general assembly.

MUFEDE puts the emphasis on training its partners, as microcredit has more impact, if it is combined with good training and coaching throughout the loan. This approach benefits both the partners who have a better understanding of their activity and greater self-confidence, and the MFI that has better repayment rates (94% for the agency Kongoussi).

Eat your greens!

Hi everyone!

Here I am in Burkina Faso, ten days only, but it feels like a lot longer! It is probably because our ‘Coordinatrice Afrique de l’ouest’ is a busy lady and because we have waited too long to start promoting spirulina in Burkina Faso, stocks are piling high.

So I will be here for 4 months in order to study the possibility to increase the consumption and sale of spirulina with a tailor-made microfinance product. This microscopic algae is already produced in a dozen small farms in Burkina Faso. The smallest one has 10 sq. m of bassins, the largest one in Koudougou, is a "showcase project" for spirulina in West Africa. Funded by the Government, it consists of 3600 square meters, but only one-third is being used because consumers are not queuing up yet.
But this magical algae has properties that should seduce everyone in Burkina and further away! Vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and essential amino acids, pigments… make it an ideal dietary supplement to help malnourished children have a balanced diet. It also helps strengthen the immune system and has positive effects on the overall health of people living with AIDS, hypertension, diabetes, eyesight problems, attention deficit disorders… and even impotence problems… Eating only 5g of spirulina a day has a positive effect on all these pathologies.
But the green color, the smell, the taste, the very fact that it’s an algae make it difficult for people in Burkina Faso to eat willingly. Japanese would find it a lot more appealing for example.

So with Laetitia and Marguerite, racing on our P50*, we are attempting to make spirulina the bread and butter of Burkina Faso… something like this!
The ideas are already flowing, honey, coconut cookies, peanut cakes, drinks, all could be enriched with spirulina; to make it known, we should advertise on the radio, throw a play, ask a local story-teller to spread the news… we will look at micro loan products to boost the sales of raw spirulina, as well as enriched products. We’ll keep you in the spiral… and welcome your ideas!

Speak soon!

Raphaëlle

*local motorbike

First steps in Burkina Faso

Today, I leave the floor to Cécile who came to spend a month in Burkina Faso as a volunteer ... After a few months working solo, I was glad to have company! And bonus… a contributor to the blog! Cécile just extended her stay by 5 days ... there is still work to do... and Burkina Faso is a welcoming country, difficult for her to leave... we hope!

"I've come to lend a hand to Laetitia during my 4-week break. I have been working with two MFIs, Mufede and Asiena that are to become EDM partners in West Africa, if funding follows. On the agenda: immersion with both MFIs to make a diagnosis of the accounting processes and management tools in place. I spent some days in the office, others on the field and gained awareness of the specifics of microfinance. I learnt a lot when interviewing the cashiers, managers, credit officers, accountants, but I also discovered plenty when touring the various markets of Ouaga and discussing with the beneficiaries: dolo sellers (the local beer), hairdressers, food sellers… It is a first step to understand the mechanics and identify the needs of the MFIs in terms of accounting and information systems. I quickly realized that the problems are not very different from those I meet in France in my business consultant role at KPMG…: lack of controls, few procedures or little formal procedures, many manual processes… The recommendations will rain! But I also need to pay attention to the working habits and culture of both partners .. And indeed, it does not work the same way in Paris or Ouaga… Fortunately my 6-month experience in Casablanca last year already taught me a little bit…. This is not because we speak the same language, for example, that we always understand each other well, therefore I am very careful to explain, rephrase, make sure that what I am asking is well understood .... But the teams are very willing and well pleased to get some support... But they’ll have to roll up their sleeves to make things better! For my part, I learn every day, everywhere and each day brings its lot of surprises and discoveries: the pace is different – we start early in the morning but there is a mandatory nap between 12:30 and 15h - no backup files… ah why bother, despite regular power outages and computer viruses - no PCs in the subsidiary offices (I visited the branch of Koudougou, 1h30 away from Ouaga), everything is hand written in pretty paper records , a debit column, a credit column, a blue pen, a red pen, et voila! Despite this, the core of business seems to work: the MFIs operate in the main markets and the most deprived suburbs of Ouaga, their loans and saving products are targeted towards the poorest, the credit officers love their job… A far cry from my usual concerns in Europe, it was a vivid experience and one I’d love to repeat soon…."

A great feature on EdM in the French newspaper 'Le Dauphiné Libéré'

Chambéry, the historical capital-city of the French Alpes region of Savoy, is twinned with the town of Ouahigouya and the newspaper 'Le Dauphine Libéré' shares with his readers, what made a French woman move to Burkina Faso and try and develop microfinance there. To download and read the article (in French) click here.

‘Bonne Arrivée’, welcome to Burkina Faso!

Following a prospection in early 2008, EDM decided in May to launch activities in this country, bordering Ghana and Benin, where EDM is already working. One of our partners for this new program is the microfinance institution ASIENA Association Inter-institute Ensemble et Avec, founded in 2003 and headed by the very dynamic Emilie Somda.
ASIENA began making loans to religious communities and after this experience of direct credit, wanted to focus on micro credit for the poor and created the Mutuelle de Solidarité (MUSO). In Burkina Faso, nearly two-thirds of the population live on less than 250 CFA francs per day (0.40 euros). ASIENA comes with a combined mission of solidarity and self-sufficiency, supported by three initiatives: the creation of health insurance schemes, the installation of savings and loan groups and the organization of training sessions on basic accounting and business skills.
A MUSO is a group of people who know each other and decide to contribute to reach certain goals or transform these contributions into credit for group members. The MUSO differs from the tontine insofar as it constitutes a capital before lending it and grant loans based on individual needs and not in a uniform manner for all.
Three boxes characterize the MUSO, a green box for savings and credit, a red box for the social needs and a blue one for financial transactions with the outside world. The group sets the amount of contributions. So far, there are 85 Muso and over 2000 members. When internal funds are not enough, Asiena may offer short-term refinancing.
ASIENA serves mostly women in rural or suburban area. In early June with Sister Emilie, we visited Toma, 500km North West of Ouagadougou, to meet with associations interested in creating some MUSO. After attending the information meeting, the association Kayo-lo (Stand Up) of people living with HIV decided to join the 85 MUSO and more than 2000 members who already exist in Burkina Faso. This group of 36 people, including 32 widows, agreed on an amount for weekly contributions and will soon be able to grant their first loans. For the association's president, Pélagie, it is a great pride to join the MUSO, not only will the micro credit help them develop small income-generating activities, like the making of ‘dolo’ (local beer) or food (rice, doughnuts, smoked fish…) and improve their profit, but it also gives them an opportunity to think about something other than the disease and direct their energy and thoughts to these new projects.
Entrepreneurs du Monde supports the development of ASIENA through financial assistance, which will include the implementation of a management and information system. With this partnership, ASIENA wishes to initiate a project of mobile micro credit agency to better serve the poorest people living in the outskirts of Ouagadougou.

Article in 'Le Courrier Cauchois'

An article was published on EdM in 'Le Courrier Cauchois', a daily newspaper from Normandy. Click here to download and read the article (only in French).