ABF announced as Winner of "Educating Africa" Award !

ASSOCIATION BASE FANDIMA has been named as the organisation with the most entrepreneurial approach to education in Burkina Faso in the Educating Africa Pan-African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education !

With over 350 entries from all over Africa, Association Base Fandima has done exceptionally well to be named a country winner in the competition. Its unique and entrepreneurial approach to education meant that it caught the judges’ attention even despite this being the most competitive competition to date. This is the fifth time that the Pan African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education have been run by UK-based international development charity, Teach A Man To Fish. As a country prize winner, ABF is entitled to prize winnings of USD $1,000.

Association Base Fandima was created in 1997 by farmers who wished to improve their living conditions, by protecting the environment while implementing a local saving system which would allow them to access credit to earn additional revenus. The education program aims at promoting literacy in rural areas to suppor sustainable development. Specific objectives are to teach to read and write to rural entrepreneurs and their families in local languages, train rural entrepreneurs on exploitation practices, sensitize rural entrepreneurs about business development themes, and help destitue fmailies to get out of poverty by a social and global approach of microfinance.

"Winning this award means a great deal to ABF as it will help us to spread the word about the work our organisation undertakes with rural communities in Eastern Burkina Faso. We will be investing th eprize money into the creation of new training supports to meet the needs of our beneficiaries and improve the quality of our services", declares François Yarga, Executive Secretary of Association Base Fandima.

The aim of the competition was to identify and celebrate the achievements of social entrepreneurs who understand the role education can play within their communities. “With this competition we were looking for programmes which are innovative, sustainable and create real impact – and we have found them. By awarding them we hope to encourage others to imitate winner’s approach and work towards more and better education in Africa”, says Nik Kafka, Managing Director of Teach A Man To Fish. 

------

More information on http://www.teachamantofish.org.uk/ and http://www.educatingafrica.com/

Nafa Naana selected for the GSVC Worldwide Final !

After being selected among 140 projects to take part to GSVC French-speaking final, Nafa Naana had been selected to participate to the worldwide final of the Global Social Venture Competition ! GSVC is the only international competition of social business plans, dedicated to students and young graduates, who are business creators with a strong social and environmental impact.

Nafa Naana presentation at the GSVC French-speaking final

Originally a programme launched by Entrepreneurs du Monde in 2010 in Burkina Faso, Nafa Naana has evolved into a social enterprise in 2012. Nafa Naana promotes the sale not only of gas stoves and improved wood or coal burning cook stoves but also of solar-powered lamps and locally-produced thermal baskets, known as bitam tore. The programme revolves around networks of shopkeepers organised into social microfranchises and around women’s groups. The business meets the genuine needs of the poorest families, whose access to local, environmentally-friendly, economical and intelligent cooking and lighting solutions is most limited.

Next step on April 11^th at Berkeley, in California !

---------------------------

More information on : http://www.gsvc.org/

Women's Day in Burkina Faso !

Did you know it ? Burkina Faso is one of the very few countries in the world to have declared Women’s Day as a public holiday. For this occasion, a special fabric is made… The year 2013 is dedicated to Women entrepreneurship and economic independence. This is the occasion to focus on our entrepreneuses in Burkina Faso, and to highlight their entrepreneurial spirit ! 

2013 Women's Day fabric in Burkina Faso

Fatoumata (Nagaré, near Fada N’Gourma): 8 children et 2 businesses !

Fatoumata is 43 years old and has 8 children. She never went to school, but the success of her business has enabled her to send all of her children to school, and achievement of which she is tremendously proud ! every 3 days, Fatoumata buys a sack of paddy (unmilled rice), removes the outer husk layer from the rice grains, and resells the sac of rice. The business enables her to generate a profit of FCFA 2,500 (€4). She also rears sheep and goats and helps her husband, a zebu breeder.

Fatoumata

Fatoumata has received support for 6 years from Association Base Fandima (ABF), Entrepreneurs du Monde’s local partner. The granted cash advances help her to buy sacks of paddy and develop her livestock rearing. When Fatoumata started her rice milling business, some 20 years ago, she was one of only two people in the village engaged in this line of work. Since then, other women have taken up the business, making competition increasingly fierce. During the holiday periods, there is a high demand for rice but fir the rest of the year, it is more difficult to sell. Fatoumata would like to avoid competition by going to other markets, but travelling is complicated. However, she is convinced that with ABF’s support, she will have the opportunity to do so !

Congratulations to all our entrepreneuses !

Regional Workshop in Lome 2013 : « Improved trainings for a more social microfinance”

Entrepreneurs du Monde’s last West Africa Regional Workshop took place in Lome, Togo, from January 28^th to February 1^st, 2013. The meeting gathered several stakeholders from the microfinance sector in West Africa: members and partners of Entrepreneurs du Monde in Benin (ALIDé), Burkina Faso (ABF, Micro Start), Ghana (ID Ghana) and Togo (Assilassimé), as well as representatives of Togolese associations dealing with people living with HIV and disabled people. The French Embassy, which is cofinancing the launch of the energy program in Togo, also took part in one of the field visits.

As part of the series of Regional Workshops organized each year since 2009 by Entrepreneurs du Monde in West Africa, this new edition was dedicated to inclusive microfinance for disabled people and trainings.

 Social microfinance and disability

In partnership with Handicap International, two days were fully dedicated to gain further insights into the matter of disability, the needs of disabled people and their ability to be MFIs (MicroFinance Institutions) beneficiaries.

Workshop on disabilities perception

The participants also had the opportunity to meet several disabled entrepreneurs living in Lome, who regularly save up, attend training courses and benefit from microcredits from Assilassimé Solidarité*.

Meeting with Dodji, a disabled micro-entrepreneur

Trainers’ training

Trainers’ training on economic and social topics is a key aspect in social microfinance services offered and promoted by Entrepreneurs du Monde. The three other days of the Workshop were devoted to trainers’ trainings. Entrepreneurs du Monde teams and partners MFIs worked together on various methodologies, tools and training techniques: diagnosis of training needs, programming of a training plan, general principles of adults training, animation techniques, training follow-up.

Reflexion in small groups during the Workshop

At the end of the week, the participants met with several groups of Assilassimé Solidarité beneficiaries, and could noticed what had been done in terms of training by the association on the field.

Meeting with groups of Assilassimé beneficiaires and discussion on best practices

All that is left is to wish to the participants to fully put into practice the discussed tools and to share them with their team upon returning to their respective countries ! Members of the Entrepreneurs du Monde network in Africa will keep on exchanging through the distance, as to develop trainings even more adapted to the needs and expectations of the most vulnerable families ! 

---

* Since 2011, Entrepreneurs du Monde in Togo is working to implement a program (Assilassimé Solidarité) to provide social microfinance services for the most deprived people (people living with HIV, disabled people, prostitutes,…). The organisation is in the process of becoming an accredited MFI, which will enable it to further develop its activities in favour of this target group. 

One of our MFI Managers makes the headline !

ABF (Association Base Fandima) is in partnership with Entrepreneurs du Monde since 2012. Located in Gourma Province, in East of Burkina Faso, ABF was created by farmers, wishing to improve their living conditions, by protecting the environment while implementing a savings and loans association. ABF offers social microfinance services tailored to the needs of the poorest, as well as trainings in business and social topics.

Read more about ABF and find the interview of François YARGA, ABF Manager, in this month edition of N’Go magazine !

http://echoscommunication.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=104 

Entrepreneurs du Monde’s first Regional workshop on social entrepreneurship to take place in Africa !

From October 1^st to 3^rd, 2012, over sixty participants gathered in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to debate and share experiences on social entrepreneurship. Representatives of Entrepreneurs du Monde and its partner microfinance institutions (ABF, AsIEnA and Micro Start in Burkina Faso, ALIDé in Benin), NGO representatives and entrepreneurs actively contributed to the richness of the exchanges.

Lunch being prepared in bita tores

The first day focused on access to energy for the poorest. Participants became aware of various social programmes, from distributing improved cookstoves to promoting solar energy. After a lunch prepared by Actualité Energie, using solar cookers and bita tore (thermos jars allowing to finish cooking the meals), participants discovered the ins and outs of Nafa Naana, the social enterprise initiated by Entrepreneurs du Monde : visit of a Micro Start kiosk located at the heart of a Ouagadougou market and promoting saving and improved cookstoves, meeting with a retailer of Nafa Nana energy products, discovery of GIZ FAFASO’s production workshops of improved Roumdé cookstoves and Actualité Energie wood-saving cookers, etc.

Meeting with a Nafa Naana shopkeeper 
selling low-energy consumption products

The second day addressed key aspects to implement social entrepreneurship projects. Social marketing, distribution to the last mile, social impact measurement, reconciliation between social impact and economic viability… are some examples of workshops that triggered animated discussions and even led to the conclusion of some partnerships. That’s how Nafa Naana indeed added to its range the CB Energie solar lanterns.

Baking of spirulina-enriched cookies

Day 3 was a healthy combination of field visits to food processors, tasting of spirulina-enriched food (monkey bread, yoghurt, cookies…) and workshops on nutrition and on fighting malnutrition thanks to local food supplements, concluded by a gastronomic session about: “’Spirulina, moringa, shea caterpillars: eat your greens!”

Participants were enthusiastic about the workshop, the diversity of topics covered, the quality of the speakers and the first-hand experiences gained from discussions and field visits.

This is only the beginning of this positive dynamic! Our wish now is that participants will benefit from the good practices discussed and share new ideas and progress at the 2^nd edition due to take place in 2014!

One of our volunteers awarded !

The 2012 International Volunteering Prize of the Fédération Nationale des Caisses d’Epargne was awarded to Marie-Claire Longeot for her voluntary activities with Entrepreneurs du Monde in Burkina Faso.

This Summer, Marie-Claire came to Burkina Faso as a volunteer to support the implementation of Nafa Naana’s management & information system. This Winter, upon receipt of her Prize, showing her loyalty and commitment to Entrepreneurs du Monde in Burkina Faso, she decided to award the €1,500 to Nafa Naana!

Franck Renaudin, Entrepreneurs du Monde Director, and Marie-Claire Longeot

All our congratulations and heartfelt thanks to Marie-Claire !