By Chloé Chevrand & Evelyne Offroy, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation

After a Solidarity Banker mission supporting the Laiterie du Berger, Jonathan Michaud is now Director of Kossam SDE, a project led by the dairy that aims to structure the dairy sector in northern Senegal. A spotlight on our discussions with this agricultural engineer from Crédit Agricole Franche-Comté, who was seconded for two years to support the development of this high-impact social project.

Structuring the dairy sector in Senegal

Driving territorial development in the Richard Toll dairy basin in northern Senegal is the shared ambition of Laiterie du Berger and its subsidiary Kossam SDE. Since its creation in 2005, Laiterie du Berger has established itself as a pioneering social enterprise in the country.

Today, La Laiterie has become the second-largest player in the Senegalese yogurt market and the leading national company processing local milk. It works with the Dagana Livestock Cooperative, which brings together 800 Fulani livestock farmers, employs 300 people, and produces 6,000 tons of yogurt each year. In early 2019, to consolidate the business and the dairy sector, La Laiterie du Berger and the Dagana Livestock Cooperative co-founded the social enterprise Kossam – Société de Développement de l'Elevage (Kossam SDE).

Kossam SDE aims to structure and strengthen the dairy sector by providing local services (livestock feed, fodder, etc.) and training and advice to local farmers. The company is developing a "mini-farm" model currently in the pilot phase (15 units in operation) and aims to establish 100 mini-farms by 2022 (more information on the project here).

Young people, actors of development

Youth play an important role at the heart of this development plan. In a context where youth employment is a real challenge in Senegal, Kossam is implementing an ambitious program to support young people in their professional development in dairy production.

Thus, the training offered to farmers is also open to their families. Indeed, the dairy's farmers are mainly families, or rather family organizations, made up of a 'can manager', male or female, behind whom an entire family structure works. "There is a real desire among farmers trained by Kossam to involve and empower their children in farm work. Kossam SDE plans to intensify training and support for farmers and local youth, on the technical aspects and economic management of the farm and the family," says Jonathan Michaud, Managing Director of Kossam SDE, an agricultural engineer from Crédit Agricole Franche Comté, seconded for two years to develop the project.

Furthermore, young people are not only involved in the livestock sector, but also in other aspects of the dairy industry. Many young people are elected as leaders of dairy hubs (which are local sections of the cooperative). While these positions were once reserved for senior managers, today the involvement of young people in agricultural and local leadership roles is one of the foundations of the sector's model as it is being structured.

Finally, youth employment is promoted in milk collection. Kossam SDE has thus enabled the creation of the "collector" profession, now practiced by young local people. Jonathan Michaud affirms that the development of milk collection and the generation of increasing income through dairy activity contribute greatly to the stabilization of the young population of the Richard Toll dairy basin. In addition, the project has led to a change in the image of the dairy industry in the eyes of young people: for local populations, dairy production has become a rewarding, remunerative, and attractive activity for new generations.

With the increase in farm productivity, the creation of new professions around livestock farming will become essential (for example, the creation of professions such as livestock advisors and livestock technicians). As Jonathan Michaud points out, this is the logical continuation of the movement already initiated by the Laiterie du Berger for more than 10 years around dairy professionalization, which requires support, supervision, structures and therefore creates employment through and around dairy production.

With Kossam, the movement is strengthening, relying on training, entrepreneurship and the involvement of young people, bearers of innovations and key players in development in Senegal.

The Foundation is publishing its Quarterly Letter #32, in which it presents its 2019-2022 strategic plan. For nearly a year, the Foundation has been working on preparing this medium-term plan, listening to and engaging with its administrators, partners, microfinance institutions and social enterprises, donors, and colleagues. The result allows the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation to look confidently to its future, outlining the major milestones.

Furthermore, the Foundation is pleased to see that it has gained the confidence of donors since, after Crédit Agricole CIB, the French Development Agency and Amundi, the European Investment Bank has joined the circle of its financiers with a loan in FCFA for an amount equivalent to 12 million euros, which allows the Foundation to increase its interventions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Finally, in this issue, you will discover the Foundation's good results in 2018, the highlights and key figures explained in the integrated report published in the last days of April.

Click here to download Letter #32

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Created in 2008, under the joint leadership of Crédit Agricole SA's management and Professor Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, the Grameen Crédit Agricole SA Foundation is a multi-sector operator that contributes to the fight against poverty through financial inclusion and social impact entrepreneurship. As an investor, lender, technical assistance coordinator, and fund advisor, the Foundation supports microfinance institutions and social enterprises in nearly 40 countries.

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has published its 2018 Integrated Report, which highlights key moments, figures, and projects developed with its partners. 2018 was an important year for the Foundation. It marked the Foundation's 10th anniversary with several commemorative events celebrated alongside its partners and founders, Crédit Agricole and Professor Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Grameen Trust. Ten years later, the Foundation has positioned itself as a recognized player in the inclusive finance sector and is strengthening its efforts to contribute to the fight against poverty.

2018 was also a year of growth. As of December 31, 2018, the Foundation managed €73 million in outstanding loans and supported more than 70 partners in 34 countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. At the heart of its objectives, the Foundation promotes women's entrepreneurship and rural economies through the institutions it supports: 751,300 microcredit beneficiaries are women, and 801,300 live in rural areas.

2018 was also a strong year for partnerships. Several projects were launched with the Crédit Agricole Group: the development of cooperation schemes with the Group's international entities, the launch of FIR, the Group's first microfinance fund, and the establishment of "Solidarity Banker," a skills volunteer program open to all Group employees on behalf of the Foundation's partners.

2018 was also the year of preparation of the Foundation's 2019-2022 Strategic Plan, which confirms the Foundation's commitment to strengthening the microfinance sector, developing rural economies and promoting impact finance.

To download the 2018 Integrated Report, click here.

 

On April 9, Philippe Guichandut, Director of Inclusive Finance Development at the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, participated in a webinar organized by Convergences and FinDev Gateway. The goal of this webinar was to reflect on the profitability of microfinance, focusing on three key issues: Why invest in microfinance? What balance should be struck between financial profitability and social performance? How can a business model be developed to reconcile dual profitability?

Although an essential requirement, the notion of profitability is nevertheless complex to grasp in a sector like microfinance, whose raison d'être is social impact. Thus, must microfinance necessarily be profitable? If so, can it be so while remaining socially responsible? Can it remain faithful to its aspirations and contribute, through financial inclusion, to lifting 1.7 billion people worldwide without access to banking services out of poverty? Between reasonable interest rates and sufficient profitability, what balance can microfinance institutions strike? What resources are available to finance the development of the microfinance sector?

This is what the various guest speakers attempted to answer. Also present alongside Philippe Guichandut were Gabriela Erice Garcia, Senior Microfinance Officer at the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), and Frédéric Mille, Investment Director at Advans International.