Microfinance Cooperatives Network

		Sector : Support for small business Location : Yaoundé, Cameroon Local Partner : Mutuelles Camerounaises de Développement et de Crédit(MUCADEC) Start of Partnership : 1998

Context and Considerations

In the context of post economic crisis where one of the major consequences was the emergence of a significant and inevitable non-official business sector, micro-business and small-business creators were left out of the support policies and development initiatives. The microfinance explosion which ensued hid numerous bankruptcies, which, today still tarnish the reputation of the microcredit co-operations.

Solution Proposed

Since 2005, the IECD has been associated with the Centre International du Crédit Mutuel (CICM) in order to develop and strengthen a credit and savings co-operative network which is nowadays called MUCADEC (Mutuelles Camerounaises de Développement et de Crédit) which provides safe savings schemes, easier credit access and also the creation of regional credit desks managed by the co-operators themselves. This strategy is firmly aimed at developing local associative and technical skills.

Impact and Results

The network, with about 2000 members and almost 250.000 Euros of handled savings, continues to grow, gaining experience and trust, notably from large-scale economic players, such as the 6 big markets of Yaoundé.
A partnership convention has been signed on November 3^rd 2009 with the MUCODEC, the Congolese Bank (Congo Brazzaville) for Development and Credit. This partnership aims at increasing the exchange of expertise between the two banks, as well as a financial contribution to the MUCADEC in order to stimulate future growth in 2010.