Last 
night, Advans Cote d’Ivoire (CI), a microfinance institution in Cote d’Ivoire, won the European Microfinance Award 2018, which was themed “Financial Inclusion through Technology” and includes a cash prize of EUR 100,000 (USD 113,000). Advans CI, a member of the Advans Group, offers payment, saving and credit services that can be linked to MTN mobile money accounts. The cocoa farmers who are customers of Advans CI were having trouble with traceability and safety issues related to being paid by cooperatives in cash. They were also having trouble saving money from harvest time until the school year begins, resulting in low school enrollment. Advans CI responded by creating a digital savings and payment solution, enabling cooperatives to make digital payments to farmers and making it easier for farmers to save money. Since 2017, Advans CI has been also providing small digital school loans, with loan decisions based on an algorithm reflecting farmers’ historical cashflows. Advans CI also negotiated free MTN transfers for its farmer clients to move money between their mobile wallets and Advans accounts.
Launched in 2005 with funding from six development finance institutions, Advans is a microfinance holding company whose mission is to increase access to financial services for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging economies. In addition to supporting MSMEs, Advans’ subsidiaries offer agriculture, education and housing finance. As of 2018, the Advans network serves a total of 780,000 loan clients in Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tunisia. As of December 2016, the group held an aggregate gross loan portfolio of EUR 690 million (USD 723 million).
The award ceremony was held at the Luxembourg headquarters of the European Investment Bank. The European Microfinance Award was launched in 2005 by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs – Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, to support innovative thinking in the microfinance sector. Awarded for the first time in 2006, it is jointly organised by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and InFiNe.lu.
This post is part of a sponsored series on European Microfinance Week, which was held in Luxembourg from November 14 through November 16, 2018. MicroCapital has been engaged to promote and cover the event on-site.
Additional Resources
Advans Cote d’Ivoire, ESAF Small Finance Bank, KMF Are Finalists for European Microfinance Award on Financial Inclusion Through Technology
https://www.microcapital.org/special-report-advans-cote-divoire-esaf-small-finance-bank-kmf-are-finalists-for-european-microfinance-award-on-financial-inclusion-through-technology/
European Microfinance Week 2018
http://www.e-mfp.eu/european-microfinance-week-2018/information
MicroCapital Coverage of European Microfinance Week Since 2012
https://www.microcapital.org/category/european-microfinance-week/
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