Technical assistance: improving risk management at ACFIME (Burkina Faso)

©Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation / Didier GENTILHOMME

ACFIME is a Burkinabe microfinance institution that targets highly vulnerable populations excluded from the larger microfinance institutions operating throughout the country. Loans granted by ACFIME therefore have very high potential for social impact.

THE ORGANIZATION AND THE FOUNDATION

As part of the African Facility, ACFIME received a €131,000 grant from the French Development Agency to implement 13 technical assistance missions in various areas (business planning, human resources management, risk management, training, etc.), including the creation of risk mapping and training for the Internal Audit department. The Foundation has also granted three loans to ACFIME since 2014, totaling €732,000.

THE CONTEXT OF THE MISSION

Structuring procedures and risk management are key factors in consolidating and ensuring the sustainability of an institution. As part of the first phase of the African Facility program, ACFIME benefited from an upgrade of most of its procedures. In line with this mission, ACFIME received another technical assistance mission to continue strengthening risk management. The organization was supported by a local technical assistance provider to map operational, financial, and strategic risks and train the Internal Audit department.

THE RESULTS

Thanks to the technical assistance provider's participatory approach and the training of the Internal Audit department, ACFIME has gained autonomy in identifying the internal and external risks it faces in order to measure them and implement mitigation measures if necessary. A risk management committee is now responsible for updating the risk mapping and mitigation plans.

THE PERSPECTIVES

Following these initial positive results, ACFIME now plans to create a risk map for each branch and service point, in order to identify and prevent all risks at every level of the institution. ACFIME also plans to develop a business continuity plan.

This article was published in "Our technical assistance system", accessible here