Madagascar - Savings and Loans
The first savings and loan associations (SLAs - mutuelles d'epargne et de credit) were established in Madagascar in 1993 under a pilot project supported by the World Bank. By the time the project closed in December 1997, 54 SLAs had been estab...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1998/09/13743299/madagascar-savings-loans http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9886 |
| Summary: | The first savings and loan associations
(SLAs - mutuelles d'epargne et de credit) were
established in Madagascar in 1993 under a pilot project
supported by the World Bank. By the time the project closed
in December 1997, 54 SLAs had been established in four
regions, Toamasina, Lac Alaotra, Fianarantsoa and
Haute-Mania, and they had started to group themselves into
regional unions. The lessons learned from this pilot project
are being factored into the preparation of the follow-up
project. The main lesson is that it takes more effort to
maintain and develop Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) than
to create them. The enthusiasm of donors to provide
assistance in microfinance and the lack of readiness of the
government to receive it resulted in duplications and
contradictions. These can be avoided in the future by a
well-defined national strategy on microfinance. To progress
towards self-sustainability, MFIs must also move into urban
areas where population density helps to lower the costs of
delivering financial services and where savings can be more
readily mobilized to support growth. |
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