SPECIAL REPORT: BNP Paribas to Prep MFIs to Win Over Investors at SAM

BNP Paribas is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its microfinance activity this year. The bank’s contribution to the sector has evolved greatly over this time, as has the microfinance ecosystem itself. While the need for financial inclusion continues to be critical, BNP Paribas is proud of its track record of support for MFIs. After 30 years, the bank continues to finance more than 30 MFIs directly, with close to EUR 300 million (USD 340 million) deployed.

We are celebrating this landmark in several parts of the world, and it quickly became obvious that the SAM would be the best event to partner with in showcasing our activities in Africa.

During our long history, we often have been disappointed to watch MFIs that do solid field work fail to flourish because they either lack the capacity to advertise to the international funder community or fail to make a good impression during the introduction process. Thus, in addition to sponsoring this year’s SAM, BNP Paribas is joining forces with other investors to arrange a training session for top executives of financial services providers under the banner Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Investors’ Needs (but Were Afraid to Ask). This session has an open and interactive format to give representatives of all types of MFIs (especially smaller ones) the opportunity to learn more about the needs of investors and how to present their institutions to them. This includes an array of topics such as how to assess an MFI’s strengths and the importance of transparency, proactive communication, clear governance structures, financial and social performance, relationships with local regulators, involvement with local and regional networks, etc.

Each Woman tending to chickens microfinance practitioner will be mentored by an investment officer or risk manager who has committed to represent the investor community at large with the goal of helping the financial inclusion sector as a whole to grow even stronger. We welcome all MFI practitioners participating in SAM to sign up for this great session. The event will be held in both French and English as part of Arendt’s “Ready for Investors?” day on Monday, October 21. In fact, that entire day is aimed at helping MFIs to get ready for SAM’s already famous Investors’ Fair!

ADA, an NGO based in Luxembourg, co-organizes SAM every two years with the support of Luxembourg’s Ministry for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs. The SAM steering committee members are: ADA, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Microfinance African Institutions Network, the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association and the Fédération des APSFD de l’Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine. We invite you to read more about SAM at http://sam.africa.

This vignette is part of a sponsored series demonstrating the value of SAM (the French acronym for African Microfinance Week), a major conference dedicated to financial inclusion in Africa. The first three SAMs were held in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2013; Dakar, Senegal, in 2015; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2017. The next SAM will take place October 21-25, 2019, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso!

The goal of SAM is to provide a unified platform for addressing issues facing microfinance in Africa by bringing together investors, MFIs, researchers, banks, networks, innovators, governments and other stakeholders.

The 2017 SAM hosted 700 participants from 58 (mostly African) countries, including representatives of 200 MFIs; 25 exhibitors at the Innovation Fair; and 26 investors, who made 170 MFI contacts at the Investor’s Fair. The proceedings also included conference sessions presented by 60 speakers plus a menu of 20 training programs.

Additional Resources

SAM
http://sam.africa/

Additional vignettes and MicroCapital coverage of SAM
http://www.microcapital.org/category/semaine-africaine-de-la-microfinance-sam/

Additional vignettes on SAM en francais
https://www.ada-microfinance.org/fr/evenements/semaine-africaine-microfinance/objectif-sam-2019/paroles-de-nos-participants