Case Study

When Microfinance Gets Involved with SMEs: Experience with Cooperatives of Producers

The benefits of collaboration between financial institutions and cooperatives

This publication presents three case studies of agricultural cooperatives in Ethiopia, Mali and Senegal demonstrating the “win-win” model for the parties involved. The paper argues that working with cooperatives enables a finance institution to pursue the fulfilment of its mission while creating economies of scale, developing sustainable relationships, expanding its client base, and reducing risk through diversification. A relationship with a finance institution gives a cooperative access to a local source of finance, enabling it to offer more and better services to its members, which in turn means the members can get more involved.

About this Publication

By Marc Mees, Christophe Brismé, Laurent Biot
Published