The Foundation supports RENACA with technical assistance within the framework of the SSNUP program
The objective of the program SSNUP (Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling) is to increase the productivity and resilience of smallholder farmers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America through improved risk management and the promotion of sustainable and climate-smart agricultural practices. In addition to improving food security and the standard of living of some tens of million smallholder farm households, this program will also contribute to the development of sustainable agricultural value chains.
Spread over ten years, the program draws on the knowledge and expertise of multiple technical assistance mechanisms of impact investment funds to reach the greatest number of smallholder farmers.
It is within the framework of this program, coordinated by ADA (Luxembourg) and financed by the Swiss, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein cooperation, and for which the Foundation was selected as one of the impact investors in charge of its implementation, that the Beninese microfinance institution RENACA will benefit from a technical assistance mission.
Founded in 2005, the National Network of Self-Managed Village Savings and Credit Banks of Benin (RENACA-Benin), which has more than 45,000 borrowers, including 59% women, is a microfinance institution particularly committed to agricultural financing and inclusive green finance. The institution has already conducted a diagnosis of its actions in terms of agricultural and green financing, raised awareness among its staff and its governance on green finance and climate-smart agriculture, and developed a list of activities excluded from financing as well as an environmental strategy.
Building on the lessons learned from its previous experiences, RENACA now wishes to change scale and strengthen its autonomy in the field of non-financial services. As such, the overall objective of the project, which will be carried out within the framework of the SSNUP program, will be to strengthen RENACA's capacities and create teams of internal trainers to empower the institution in the creation and delivery of training modules on various themes such as financial education for small producers, sustainable, profitable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices for small producers, or risk analysis and the preparation of agricultural credit applications.
This project will therefore strengthen the MFI's non-financial offering through dedicated training for small producers, as well as its financial offering, through better analysis of agricultural credit applications, which will thus respond in a targeted manner to the financial needs of small producers. This project will also improve the management of risks related to agricultural credit by strengthening the capacities of its staff, but also limit the risks linked to poor farm management by producers.
For the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, which has been working with RENACA since 2013, this project is central to one of its strategic priorities: strengthening rural economies. This technical assistance mission will thus strengthen the impact of the funding provided by the Foundation to the institution since the beginning of their partnership.
For more information on the SSNUP program, click here.
