SSNUP Program: Supporting MLF Malawi to develop agricultural financial services with mobile telephony.

The microfinance institution MLF Malawi has benefited from the SSNUP (Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling) program since the first quarter of 2023, coordinated by ADA (Support for Autonomous Development) and for which the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation was selected as one of the impact investors responsible for its implementation. This program aims to increase the productivity and resilience of smallholder farmers, particularly in Asia and Africa, through better risk management and the promotion of sustainable and climate-smart agricultural practices.

The two-year project aims to improve financing for agricultural activities carried out by producers in rural areas in Malawi through the development of agricultural loans and a credit rating system, the integration of mobile money transfer and savings services and the optimization of operational procedures.

The technical assistance provided by the Foundation within the framework of the program will strengthen the financial offer of the MFI through the training of 17,000 women farmers (operating in the sectors of corn, Irish potatoes, soybeans, rice, livestock, horticulture and
peanuts.) to digital finance to improve their digital literacy and encourage the use of banking services on their mobile phones. Trained in the use of mobile money, these 17,000 women will have easier access to additional financial services tailored to their business. They will have more confidence to carry out transactions themselves.

Malawi's economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector (29.5 billion of GDP), which employs over 80 billion of the population (World Bank). The population relies primarily on subsistence, rain-fed agriculture, which increases its vulnerability to climate shocks and creates food insecurity. Mobile money services promote the financial inclusion of women.

MLF Malawi, a partner of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation since 2018, is a microfinance institution (MFI) established in 2002 by MicroLoan Foundation UK, a charitable organization dedicated to microfinance in sub-Saharan Africa. As of December 2022, the institution had more than 40,000 active borrowers (100 women, 80 rural) and managed a loan portfolio equivalent to approximately €4.6 million.

For more information about the SSNUP program, Click here.