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Yes! I want to support microfinance and empower people to work their way out of poverty.
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PADME
General Manager: René Azokli
Number of Active Clients: 32,686
Active Portfolio: $32,236,000
Average Loan Balance: $986
Average First Loan: $519
Portfolio at Risk: 13.7%
Percentage of Women Clients: 70%
Statistics as of December 2006
Organizational Structure: PADME (Promotion et l’Appuiau Développement de Micro-Entreprises) is currently registered as an association, or a nonprofit NGO, and has signed a convention-cadre agreement with the Government of Benin under UMOA's Loi Parmec. It is formed by an eight-member General Assembly and governed by a Board of Directors that is composed of representatives from the staff, a financial institution (Financial Bank), the Association of Clients, the Association of Craftsmen of Benin and Africare (an international NGO).
History: PADME was founded in 1993 as part of a project that the Government of Benin (GoB) was undertaking under a World Bank structural adjustment program. In 1998, the project was converted into an independent organization with NGO status, and all project assets and liabilities were transferred to the new entity. Currently PADME is undergoing a second institutional transformation, whereby it plans to create and subsequently transfer its microfinance activities to a private, share capital company (société anonyme) alongside likeminded investors. After holding an initial meeting for prospective shareholders in October 2005 and receiving a positive response from the market, PADME, with the support of ACCION International, began the process of creating the new share capital company. In addition to the PADME Association, the ownership group will likely include a select group of local and international shareholders combining strong commitment to the micro and small business sector, operational expertise and financial resources.
ACCION’s Role: ACCION is providing comprehensive technical assistance to PADME as it transitions to a non-bank financial institution. The technical assistance package includes (but is not limited to): overall management support, particularly in the areas of transformation, risk management, individual credit methodology, development and implementation of the transition strategy for assets and liabilities, an HR transition strategy and the facilitation of field visits to other ACCION affiliates.
Borrower Profile: The Benin economy is based largely on subsistence farming, cotton production, regional trade, and small- to medium-scale manufacturing services. Business owners are primarily urban-based (principally in Cotonou and Porto Novo) and run micro and small businesses.
Program Growth: Year | Active
Portfolio | Amount
Disbursed | Active
Clients | Average
Loan
Balance | 2002 | $13,700,247 | $21,816,523 | 25,836 | $530 | 2003 | $23,375,881 | $34,954,477 | 32,602 | $717 | 2004 | $44,437,585 | $60,739,976 | 37,661 | $1,180 | 2005 | $37,004,832 | $41,560,197 | 36,758 | $1,007 | 2006 | $32,236,000 | $36,000,000 | 32,686 | $986 |
Program Locations: PADME currently has regional offices in Cotonou (head office), Porto Novo, Parakou, and Abomey-Calavi. In addition to the regional offices, PADME has 12 other branches in Cotonou, 8 in Porto Novo, 8 in Parakou, and 9 in Abomey-Calavi.
Contact Information:
PADME
Carré 647 Cadjehoun
Les Cocotiers 08 BP 712 Tri Postal
Cotonou, BENIN
Tel: (229) 21 30 30 47
Fax: (229) 21 30 23 78
E-mail: padme@bow.intnet.bj
Website:www.padmebenin.org
|  | A small loan gave Agathe just enough to buy the raw materials she needed to get ahead of the produce-and-sell cycle. “What I used to sell in three visits to the market, now I sell in one,” Agathe proudly asserts.
Agathe Dada Zinsou
Client of ACCION partner PADME in Benin |  |
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