Microfinance in Côte d’Ivoire to fight against banking exlusion

ADVANS CI is a subsidiary of Advans SA, an international microfinance group set up by Horus Development Finance and several multilateral investors. Advans Côte d’Ivoire’s mandate is to offer loan and savings products, as well as a wide range of related financial services, to microenterprises and SMEs in Côte d’Ivoire. It is the 3rd largest microfinance institution in Côte d’Ivoire in terms of the volume of its loan portfolio and serves over 16,500 borrowers. It has over 29,000 savers via a network of 7 branches (in June 2015).

FISEA is participating in the capital increase of Advans Côte d’Ivoire in which it has been a shareholder since 2010. This operation will support the microfinance institution’s development, particularly outside of Abidjan, in regions where poor populations and SMEs are still largely underserved by banks and microfinance institutions. The technical assistance project will help Advans CI improve and develop on a large scale its “cocoa loan” for cocoa smallholders in Côte d’Ivoire.

In just a few years, Advans Côte d’Ivoire has successfully innovated in order to improve access to financial services for a population which has until now been unserved by banks: women entrepreneurs, urban micro-entrepreneurs, farmers, SMEs… This operation will allow it to step up its action for financial inclusion. It will support job creation and increase incomes for clients and their families. The technical assistance project will contribute to increasing the yields and incomes of cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire by giving them access to inputs (fertilizer and plant protection products).