Sub-Saharan Africa gets $7.6m to strengthen microfinance sector

The MasterCard Foundation and the SEEP Network have launched a new $7.6 million, four-year partnership to strengthen and develop the capacity of microfinance industry associations in sub-Saharan Africa.

Both institutions believe there is an opportunity to support greater consumer protection and financial transparency within the industry across the continent.

In a statement, Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation said “This partnership will enable African microfinance associations to mainstream client protection principles across the industry, so that clients benefit from the responsible delivery of financial services.”

The SEEP Network is the world’s largest community of microfinance associations. It provides global perspectives on the advancement of microfinance ensuring relevance with respect to local needs, broad participation, and leadership of practitioners.

According to the statement, through this partnership, eight microfinance associations with a membership of nearly 500 microfinance institutions (serving, in total six million clients) will improve their core management capacity.

“The project will also advance financial transparency and consumer protection principles among microfinance institutions, and share learnings with associations across sub-Saharan Africa to scale and sustain industry growth,” it adds.

“We understand the powerful role microfinance associations can play in promoting financial inclusion and improved standards of practice” said Jenny Morgan, Director of the Association Development Community of Practice at the SEEP Network.

By Ekow Quandzie